David Berkowitz is up for parole next year.
David Berkowitz, the New York City serial killer known as the “Son of Sam,” has been hospitalized, according to reports.
Berkowitz, 64, was transported to an Albany-area hospital from the Shawangunk Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison, on Tuesday, according to officials.
Officials have not commented on the reason for Berkowitz's hospitalization, but both the New York Post and the Times Union of Albany report he was brought in to undergo heart surgery.
Berkowitz is serving six consecutive 25-years-to-life sentences. Berkowitz, who was known in the tabloids as the “Son of Sam” and the “.44 Caliber Killer,” murdered six people and wounded seven others in eight separate attacks between July 1976 and July 1977 in New York City.
He was arrested on August 10, 1977, and sentenced to prison in March 1978 after pleading guilty to the six murders.
He has been denied parole every time he has been eligible, most recently in June 2016. His next parole hearing is May 2018.
During his time in prison, he claims he has converted to Christianity and has apologized for his crimes.
He now goes by the name the “Son of Hope,” and preaches the Bible behind bars.
“As I have communicated many times throughout the years, I am deeply sorry for the pain, suffering and sorrow I have brought upon the victims of my crimes," Berkowitz, now 64, wrote in a statement on his website. “I regret what I've done and I'm haunted by it."
Donna DeMasi, who was 16 when she was shot by Berkowitz in 1976, told InsideEdition.com earlier this year that she believes he may have reformed, but remains confident he'll never be released.
"I feel people can change," she said. "Let him change in jail. He is never going to come out. I will never see him and never have to see him and I am thankful.”
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