On December 14, 2016 I received a letter from a teacher and her class...
On occasion I get requests from a teacher or student, or an entire class to help with a project they're working on either on the subjects of criminology, psychology or sociology or something else. If it sounds legitimate I will try to help. I replied to the letter from Oswego High School on December 18.
CLASS QUESTIONS:
1) You seem to have completely changed the person you are since the events of 1976 and 1977. Do you have any explanation or recollection for what happened? Can you identify with the Son of Sam who committed these crimes or is he a completely different person at this point?
A) During that dark time in my life, from the ages of 22 to 24, I had been undergoing a time of deep emotional disturbance. Although I did not recognize it at the time, I had become very delusional. As a result, I was not thinking clearly. I was filled with occultic thoughts and was traveling a very dark path. It would be impossible to put it into words. Today, however, I do not recognize nor do I relate to the so called "Son of Sam" persona. This moniker means nothing to me today, and I do not relate to it at all. Just seeing or hearing these words causes me to experience emotional pain.
2) If you were released today, would this world we live in be safe, and do you think you will be safe?
A) If I was to be released, which is highly unlikely, I believe I would be relatively safe. Of course my personal safety would always be a concern. I would add that if someone was angry at me and feeling vengeful, it is with the person I once was, and not with who I am today.
3) You've been in prison for 40 years, but do you remember how and when you were able to find God for the very first time and why you did so? What has made you follow Christianity
in these more recent times?
A) Yes, today I am someone who has committed himself to Jesus Christ and has a personal relationship with Him. Let me say that in my darkest moments, when I had just about given up on life and was alone in a cold prison cell, somehow the Lord reached out to me. He penetrated the darkness of my lonely heart, and I was never the same again. Slowly, over the process of time, I began to grow spiritually. I was changing for the better. And I continue to grow and change.
4) Many believe that, during the specific time you found God, you made some kind of transition from a form of "evil" to a completely different form of "good." Do you believe this is possible? What is your personal definition of evil?
A) My answer is similar to what I wrote for #3. I believe that anyone can change and become a better person if he or she wants to. The Bible declares, "For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37). I think this verse says it all.
As for my definition of evil, as Webster's Dictionary states, evil is deliberately causing injury and harm to another. It is something "morally reprehensible," and is a very destructive power.
But I would add that the potential to do evil lies more or less within the heart of every person. This being that under the right circumstances, evil can manifest itself.
History, I believe, has many examples of this. Think of Hitler and his manipulating many of Germany's citizens to round up and kill Jews, who at the time were also citizens of Germany. The same with Stalin in Russia. Pol Pot in Cambodia and Mao Tse-Tung in China. Millions turned upon their neighbors and destroyed them. This is evil!
5) I believe that serial killers, yourself in particular, are capable of remorse. Others disagree. Would you agree with this and what is your message to these people who might disagree, families of the victims in particular?
A) As for having remorse, I know from experience that even those whom society has written off as evil, are capable of remorse. Over the years I have encountered many convicted felons who are remorseful. I myself am deeply remorseful, and I have tried my best to demonstrate this. Some have accepted it, and others have not. This is okay as every person is entitled to his or her own opinion.
Consider, too, when trying to define evil, of the many business executives and financial advisors who have swindled their clients out of money, some even out of their life's savings, or those who have hurt people in other ways that did not involve actual violence? Yet at the same time not demonstrating any remorse. Surely such psychopathic behaviors can be seen in many people, even by those who have never taken a life. Therefore we should not limit the subject of remorse only to those who have committed so called "serial" type crimes.
David Berkowitz
December 18, 2016
CLASS QUESTIONS:
1) You seem to have completely changed the person you are since the events of 1976 and 1977. Do you have any explanation or recollection for what happened? Can you identify with the Son of Sam who committed these crimes or is he a completely different person at this point?
A) During that dark time in my life, from the ages of 22 to 24, I had been undergoing a time of deep emotional disturbance. Although I did not recognize it at the time, I had become very delusional. As a result, I was not thinking clearly. I was filled with occultic thoughts and was traveling a very dark path. It would be impossible to put it into words. Today, however, I do not recognize nor do I relate to the so called "Son of Sam" persona. This moniker means nothing to me today, and I do not relate to it at all. Just seeing or hearing these words causes me to experience emotional pain.
2) If you were released today, would this world we live in be safe, and do you think you will be safe?
A) If I was to be released, which is highly unlikely, I believe I would be relatively safe. Of course my personal safety would always be a concern. I would add that if someone was angry at me and feeling vengeful, it is with the person I once was, and not with who I am today.
3) You've been in prison for 40 years, but do you remember how and when you were able to find God for the very first time and why you did so? What has made you follow Christianity
in these more recent times?
A) Yes, today I am someone who has committed himself to Jesus Christ and has a personal relationship with Him. Let me say that in my darkest moments, when I had just about given up on life and was alone in a cold prison cell, somehow the Lord reached out to me. He penetrated the darkness of my lonely heart, and I was never the same again. Slowly, over the process of time, I began to grow spiritually. I was changing for the better. And I continue to grow and change.
4) Many believe that, during the specific time you found God, you made some kind of transition from a form of "evil" to a completely different form of "good." Do you believe this is possible? What is your personal definition of evil?
A) My answer is similar to what I wrote for #3. I believe that anyone can change and become a better person if he or she wants to. The Bible declares, "For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37). I think this verse says it all.
As for my definition of evil, as Webster's Dictionary states, evil is deliberately causing injury and harm to another. It is something "morally reprehensible," and is a very destructive power.
But I would add that the potential to do evil lies more or less within the heart of every person. This being that under the right circumstances, evil can manifest itself.
History, I believe, has many examples of this. Think of Hitler and his manipulating many of Germany's citizens to round up and kill Jews, who at the time were also citizens of Germany. The same with Stalin in Russia. Pol Pot in Cambodia and Mao Tse-Tung in China. Millions turned upon their neighbors and destroyed them. This is evil!
5) I believe that serial killers, yourself in particular, are capable of remorse. Others disagree. Would you agree with this and what is your message to these people who might disagree, families of the victims in particular?
A) As for having remorse, I know from experience that even those whom society has written off as evil, are capable of remorse. Over the years I have encountered many convicted felons who are remorseful. I myself am deeply remorseful, and I have tried my best to demonstrate this. Some have accepted it, and others have not. This is okay as every person is entitled to his or her own opinion.
Consider, too, when trying to define evil, of the many business executives and financial advisors who have swindled their clients out of money, some even out of their life's savings, or those who have hurt people in other ways that did not involve actual violence? Yet at the same time not demonstrating any remorse. Surely such psychopathic behaviors can be seen in many people, even by those who have never taken a life. Therefore we should not limit the subject of remorse only to those who have committed so called "serial" type crimes.
David Berkowitz
December 18, 2016
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