Berkowitz's life in prison
In 1979, there was an attempt on Berkowitz's life. He refused to identify the person(s) who had attacked him with a knife, but suggested that the act was directed by the cult he once belonged to. He bears a permanent scar from the wound that took 52 stitches to close.
In 1987, Berkowitz became a
born again Christian in prison. According to his personal testimony, his moment of
conversion occurred after reading
Psalm 34:6 from a
Gideon's Pocket Testament Bible given to him by a fellow inmate.<SUP id=cite_ref-forgiven_37-0 class=reference>
[38]</SUP> In the same testimony, he stated that his obsession with and heavy involvement in the occult played a major role in the Son of Sam murders.
In March 2002, Berkowitz sent a letter to
New York Governor George Pataki asking that his
parole hearing be canceled, stating: "In all honesty, I believe that I deserve to be in prison for the rest of my life. I have, with God's help, long ago come to terms with my situation and I have accepted my punishment."<SUP id=cite_ref-forgiven_37-1 class=reference>
[38]</SUP> In June 2004, he was denied a second parole hearing after he stated that he did not want one. The parole board saw that he had a good record in the prison programs, but decided that the brutality of his crimes called for him to stay imprisoned. In July 2006, the board once again denied parole on similar grounds, with Berkowitz not in attendance at the hearing. He is very involved in
prison ministry and regularly
counsels troubled inmates.
In June 2005, Berkowitz sued his former attorney, Hugo Harmatz, claiming he had taken possession of Berkowitz's letters and other personal belongings in order to publish a book of his own. Berkowitz stated that he would only drop the lawsuit if the attorney signed over all money he makes to the victims' families. On 25 October 2006, Berkowitz and Harmatz
settled out of court, with Harmatz agreeing to return the disputed items to Berkowitz's present attorney Mark Jay Heller, and to donate part of his book profits to the New York State Crime Victims Board.
Shortly before her death in 2006, Stacy Moskowitz's mother wrote Berkowitz a letter saying she had forgiven him for his crimes.<SUP id=cite_ref-38 class=reference>
[39]</SUP> Moskowitz lived her final days in a
Miami co-op, surrounded by pictures of her daughters, whom she talked about constantly. "...she said she did forgive everyone," said her close friend and neighbor, Sharon Denaro. "She needed to relieve herself of anger to be able to move forward with her life. She would say things like, 'This kind of anger can make you sick. Don't let anger eat you up'."
Berkowitz is housed in
Sullivan Correctional Facility in
Fallsburg, New York. His "official" website is maintained on his behalf by a church group as he is not allowed access to a
computer.<SUP id=cite_ref-forgiven_37-2 class=reference>
[38]</SUP>
<SUP></SUP>
Berkowitz's next parole hearing is slated for May 2012; he has been denied parole five times thus far, most recently in May 2010.<SUP id=cite_ref-39 class=reference>
[40]</SUP> In March 2010 Berkowitz had told Investigative Reporter Mike Mason that he would not seek parole in 2010.
Berkowitz plans to write a memoir, entitled
Son of Hope: The Prison Journals of David Berkowitz, which will be published through Morning Star Communications. Berkowitz himself will receive no money from publication, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the New York state crime victims board for distribution to the victims of his crimes.<SUP id=cite_ref-forgiven_37-3 class=reference>
[38]</SUP>
<SUP></SUP>
He is also corresponding with an advocate of murder victims and working to stop the sales of memorabilia related to murderers.<SUP id=cite_ref-40 class=reference>
[41]</SUP>
