In this episode, David Spicer sits down with All Things New to share one of the most shocking redemption stories we’ve ever recorded.
At 17 years old, David entered Mississippi’s Parchman prison. He talks about:
Growing up in extreme abuse and trauma at home
Joining gangs young because he craved a father’s love
Learning violence as survival inside Parchman, where “it’s kill or be killed”
Watching stabbings, riots, helicopters landing, guards abusing inmates, and being sent to “the hole” over and over
Being told he was not being rehabilitated — just warehoused
After serving 11 years and getting out at 28, David tried to work honest jobs. Every time background checks came back, he was fired — not for stealing, not for being late, just for having a record. That bitterness and desperation pushed him into bank robbery.
How he robbed three banks in about a month
Why banks are trained to hand over the cash without fighting
How fast “easy money” disappears, and how paranoia steals your sleep
Getting arrested in New Orleans and entering the federal system
David was hit with SIX life sentences plus 30 years for federal bank robbery. In federal time, “life” means you die there. There is no parole. He had nothing left to lose.
Violence followed him into the feds. He describes getting targeted, getting surrounded, and the prison mindset: “Don’t threaten me and don’t put your hands on me.” He explains how quickly things go lethal behind the fence — and the moment he almost killed another inmate… and why he believes God literally stopped his hand in mid-attack and kept that man alive. He calls that “prevenient grace.”
Because David was labeled dangerous, he was eventually shipped to Florence, Colorado. The ADX Supermax. “The Alcatraz of the Rockies.”
He walks us through Supermax life:
23+ hours a day in total isolation
No physical human contact
Food passed through a slot
Four steps from bed to shower, four steps back
“Recreation” in an outdoor cage the size of a dog run
Conversations through toilets because that’s the only way to talk to the next cell
He was housed near men like the Unabomber, the Oklahoma City bomber, cartel leaders, domestic terrorists, and international extremists. He talks about spiritual darkness in there… but also moments that stayed with him, like the shoe bomber refusing to even hand him a magazine with a woman on the cover — while also being willing to blow up a plane full of innocent people. That led to a powerful conversation about religion without love.
And then everything broke.
In 2012, while still in the Supermax, David learned his mother died — the one person who loved him unconditionally. He decided he was going to end his own life.
He describes that moment openly:
Feeling like there was no path forward
Believing there was nothing left but those four steps to the shower until he died
Planning exactly how he would do it and even practicing in the mirror
But right there, in a concrete box, he remembered the Lord’s Prayer that his mother made him pray as a child. He hit his knees and said, “God, I don’t even know if You’re real. But if You are, reveal Yourself to me.”
That prayer changed everything.
For the first time, he started reading the Bible — not fast, not like a book, but slowly. One chapter a day. Then two. He says God began to show him:
“You’re not past forgiveness.”
“I already knew all of this before you were born.”
“I chose people just like you all through Scripture.”
He realized Jesus didn’t just save “good church people.” Jesus chose to enter the world through a bloodline that included a prostitute (Rahab). Jesus took the place of Barabbas — the violent criminal everyone had already given up on. Grace is for killers, addicts, thieves, gang leaders, the proud, the self-righteous… all of us.
David started tithing from inside prison.
He started helping people.
He started paying restitution.
He even sent money to a widow who’d lost her husband.
He earned his GED even though he believed he would die in prison.
He said, “Obedience came before freedom.”
Then God did the impossible.
David says God literally gave him, in a dream and then again while awake, the exact words to file in a legal motion — even though he had no law training. He obeyed, wrote it out, and mailed it.
A federal public defender in Jackson, Mississippi taking his case
A massive New York firm (Simpson Thacher & Bartlett) joining pro bono
Multiple attorneys fighting on his behalf
A federal judge reviewing his sentence and saying, “You were sentenced wrong. You’re not supposed to be in prison.”
Nine months later, the SAME JUDGE who originally gave David six life sentences plus 30 years ordered his immediate release.
As in: “We have to have him off the compound by 5pm today.”
He walked out of federal Supermax custody after 22+ years behind bars. His first request? A piece of gum. He hadn’t even been allowed gum in 22 years.
David is free.
He’s married.
He’s working.
He’s driving a concrete truck in Nashville.
And he’s coming back into jails, prisons, and schools to tell people the truth:
“Nobody came for me. I’m going back in for them.”
Powerful themes in this episode:
Fatherhood, identity, and why the absence (or abuse) of a father marks generations
Trauma from childhood abuse and what that does to a kid’s brain
How prison is not built for restoration — it’s built for warehousing human beings
Why violence becomes normal… and why that’s not “strength,” it’s survival
The darkness of isolation and suicidal thinking
The moment he cried out to God
Grace, repentance, responsibility, obedience
What it really means that Jesus died for the worst of us, not the best of us
How God can take a man the system wrote off and turn him into a messenger of hope
Scripture referenced / woven in:
Revelation 21:5 — “Behold, I am making all things new.”
Romans 5:8 — “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
1 Peter 4 (be serious in prayer, love one another)
Proverbs about fathers and foundation
Train up a child (Proverbs 22:6)
“We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.” (Revelation 12:11)
Resources mentioned in this episode:
All Things New Ministry (jail ministry, recovery, re-entry support)
Better Man men’s discipleship (Crossgates Baptist Church – men learning to be spiritual leaders in their homes)
Friends of Alcoholics (faith-based recovery)
Parchman Prison (Mississippi State Penitentiary)
“Do You Remember? A Letter to Mommy – An Unborn Child Speaks” by David Spicer
A pro-life appeal written from the voice of the unborn child. Available on Amazon.
“Redemption Road: From 6 Life Sentences to Freedom” by David Spicer
Full life story from Parchman, to ADX Florence, to the miracle release.
Currently available for pre-order through True Vine Publishing.
To book David to speak at your church, school, jail, prison, or recovery ministry:
Email
[email protected] and we will connect you.
Ministry Contact / Next Steps:
All Things New Ministry
Scott Walters: (601) 278-4816
Aubrey Pridgen: (601) 940-7495
If you need prayer, if you’re struggling with addiction, if you’re heading back out on parole and don’t know where to go — reach out. You are not alone. There IS a way out. There IS a way back.
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Pray for David Spicer’s continued protection and for his brother Adam
“God didn’t just set me free from prison. He set me free from me.” – David Spicer
Use all of these in Podbean tags (comma-separated exactly like this, no hashtags needed in Podbean tags field):
prison ministry, redemption testimony, six life sentences, supermax prison, ADX Florence, Parchman prison, Mississippi prison system, Christian testimony, fatherhood, trauma and abuse, suicide prevention, gang life, bank robbery testimony, Celebrate Recovery, reentry ministry, Friends of Alcoholics, All Things New Ministry, Scott Walters, Aubrey Pridgen, David Spicer, freedom in Christ, grace and forgiveness, second chances, jail ministry, pro life message, True Vine Publishing, Revelation 21:5
“ADX Florence,” “Parchman,” “6 life sentences,” “redemption testimony,” “suicide prevention,” “reentry ministry” — these are very searchable phrases for people specifically looking for hope after incarceration or addiction.
Bullet-Point Summary / Transcript Summary
Drop this at the bottom of the description in Podbean for accessibility + SEO. It also helps people skim:
Episode Summary (Full Conversation Highlights):
David describes growing up in severe abuse, watching his father physically harm his mother and the kids, and how that trauma sent him to the streets looking for belonging.
He explains how gangs use fake “family” language to recruit fatherless boys.
At 17, he entered Parchman prison (Mississippi). He talks openly about riots, stabbings, guards abusing inmates, picking cotton, and how prison is about warehousing — not healing.
After 11 years, he was released, tried to work legally, kept getting fired because of his record, and eventually robbed three banks in about a month.
He was sentenced in federal court to six life sentences plus 30 years. In federal time, “life” means you are expected to die in custody.
He was eventually shipped to ADX Florence (federal Supermax), where he spent 15 years in near-total isolation, 23+ hours a day alone, no physical contact, four steps from bed to shower.
He talks about suicidal thoughts after his mother died in 2012 and the moment he dropped to his knees and prayed, “God, if You’re real, reveal Yourself.”
He began reading Scripture daily, slowly, and realized that grace is for “the worst of us,” not “the best of us.”
He started tithing, helping other inmates, and obeying God — even though he believed he would die in prison.
He says God gave him (word-for-word) a legal motion to file. That motion triggered multiple attorneys, including a major New York firm, to take his case.
Nine months later, the same judge who sentenced him ordered his IMMEDIATE RELEASE.
Today David is free, working, married, serving Jesus, and going back into jails and schools to reach men and women that everybody else has given up on.
He says: “Nobody came for me. So I’m going back in for them.”
If you think there’s no way back because of what you’ve done — listen to this story.
Jesus still sets captives free.
