resembled a retired police officer than a former serial killer.” His name made national news again in August 2011, when he announced that he will not seek parole when his next opportunity comes, in May 2012. Responding to an inquiry from Fox News reporter Joshua Rhett Miller, Berkowitz wrote, “I have no interest in parole. . . . I am already a ‘free man.’ I am not saying this jokingly. I really am. . . . While society will never forgive me, God has. I am forever grateful for such forgiveness.” Besides, he has a mission right where he is. “Right now my life is filled with deep inner peace and with joy in the Lord. I am, by the grace of God, doing and accomplishing many positive things,” he wrote in a letter to Salvo. David is the inmate pastor and worship leader for the prison church of about 50, where “broken hearts are being mended . . . tormented minds are receiving deliverance . . . [and] damaged and bruised souls are getting healed.” He works as a Mobility Guide for sight-impaired inmates and a Program Aide for inmates with mental health impairments. Binger called him “a sort of prison trustee.” Some of the younger inmates call him “Grandpa Dave.” He writes voluminously on his treasured electric typewriter, mostly letters and journal entries, which are periodically uploaded by friends to his website, www.ariseandshine.org, and he shares his story with young people in churches and juvenile detention facilities through films and his writings. He doesn’t write about his crimes, though, and says he probably never will. Those are still too painful. “I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in
my heart over the lives that were destroyed through my own foolishness.” Their families figure into his decision-making concerning parole, too. “I never want to do anything to add to their pain.” But he will talk about his descent into the twisted web of satanic thought, especially for the benefit of other young people, who might learn from his missteps. Though bar mitzvah’d as a youth, David says he had no real fear of or respect for God. “I just did whatever I felt like doing, whatever felt good.” He preferred darkness, witchcraft, and occult things. “I watched countless horror and satanic movies,” particularly Rosemary’s Baby, which “totally captivated my mind.” I realize [now] that I had been slowly deceived. I did not know that bad things were going to result from all this. Yet over the months the things that were wicked no longer seemed to be such. I was headed down the road to destruction and I did not know it. His personal message to young people is, “Your life and your soul is precious, more precious than you realize. Cherish your life, and look to God for your help. In addition, remember that the choices you make today may determine how you will be living your life in the future.” Though he’s been incarcerated for 34 years, David says he “no longer sees the prison bars. My eyes are focused beyond that to see Jesus who is the author and finisher of my faith. My freedom is found in one word: Jesus.”
statement of ownership, management, and circulation united states postal service
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Publication Title: Salvo Publication Number: 0025-638 Filing Date: October 1, 2011 Issue Frequency: Quarterly Number of Issues Published Annually: 4 Annual Subscription Price: $25.99 Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: 4125 West Newport Ave., Chicago, Cook, Illinois 60641-4009 Contact person: Jonathan Dockery, Telephone: 773-481-1090 Complete Mailing address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher: 4125 West Newport Ave., Chicago, IL 60641 Full names and complete Mailing Address of Publisher: James M. Kushiner, 4125 West Newport Ave., Chicago, IL 60641 Editor: James Kushiner, 4125 West Newport Ave., Chicago, IL 60641 Managing Editor: Anita Kuhn, 4125 West Newport Ave., Chicago, IL 60641 Owner, Full Names: The Fellowship of St. James Address: 4125 West Newport Ave. Chicago, IL 60641 Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders: None Tax Status: The purpose, function, and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for federal income tax purposes has not changed during preceding 12 months. Publication Title: Salvo
14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: Fall 2011 (#18) 15. Extent and Nature of Circulation: Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months / No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date a. Total Number of Copies: 2599 / 2415 b. 1. Paid/Requested Outside-County Mail Subscriptions: 1887 / 1647 b. 2. Paid In-County Subscriptions: 0 / 0 b. 3. Sales through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales: 83 / 77 b. 4. Other Classes Mailed through the USPS: 11 / 2 c. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 1981 / 1726 d. 1. Free Distribution by Mail Outside-County: 132 / 131 d. 2. Free Distribution by Mail In-County: 0 / 0 d. 3. Free Distribution by Mail, Other classes through the USPS: 41 / 28 d. 4. Free Distribution Outside Mail: 45 / 0 e. Total Free Distribution: 218 / 159 f. Total Distribution: 2199 / 1885 g. Copies Not Distributed: 400 / 530 h. Total: 2599 / 2415 i. Percent Paid: 90% / 92% 16. Publication Statement of Ownership: Will be printed in the Winter 2011 (#19) issue of this publication 17. I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. Jonathan Dockery, Business Manager, Date: September 28, 2011
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