The prisoner had been known as “king of the garotters” for his history of strangling his victims. He seemed utterly without mercy. He had asked the chaplain to bring him a certain book to read, but the chaplain suggested the Bible already lying in his cell. “It would do no good to the likes of me,” the prisoner replied as he slapped the iron bars. “My heart is as hard as these.” “Have you ever read about the New Covenant which God wants you to accept?” the chaplain asked. “Never heard of it.” “It says, ‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you’” (Ezek 36:26). The criminal was amazed and asked to see the verse for himself. The chaplain showed it to him and then left. The next day, when the chaplain returned, the prisoner was a changed man. “Oh, sir,” he said, “I never dreamed of such a promise! I never thought that God would speak like that to sinners like me! And even now, I know that He is working that miracle in me!” New hearts for free!