Dale S. Recinella - Now I Walk on Death Row: A Wall Street Finance Lawyer Stumbles Into the Arms of a Loving God

Now I Walk on Death Row

Copyright 2011

Dale S. Recinella

Cover design by Eric Walljasper

Scripture quotations are from HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Published by Chosen Books

11400 Hampshire Avenue South

Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

Chosen Books is a division of

Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

E-book edition created 2011

ISBN 978-1-4412-1480-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Dales story is a bold reminder that no life should be treated lightly. In the weighty matters of justice and mercy, Dale chose to follow Jesus, who sided with the poor, the dispossessed and despised. I hope what you read here impassions you to do the same.

Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, author, Dead Man Walking and
The Death of Innocents

This fascinating life story describes a profound personal journey leading to deep spiritual transformation. I was deeply moved in reading it, and I am delighted to highly recommend it.

Francis MacNutt, co-founder, Christian Healing Ministries; author of the bestselling Healing and many more

My longtime minister friend offers a collection of high-definition snapshots of the sinful nature of man. But Dale makes it clear that all humankind, not just criminals, is suffering on death row, waiting for Judgment Day. Thankfully, my friend doesnt leave us therealone, facing the sentence we deserve for our sins. Dale writes about a gracious God, who through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, forgives us of our sin and delivers us from the fear of death and dread for the hereafter. By the end of this quick but not easy read, tears of shame for my sins gave way to tears of joyful hope for myself and others. The contents are based on the truth of the Word of God and will pierce your inner being like a double-edged swordand judge the thoughts and intents of your heart.

Ken Cooper, founder, Ken Cooper Prison Ministry;
author, Held Hostage

A gripping narrative, a personal testament to the reality of unbought grace and its constant power to transform the lives of those who dare to accept it.

Charles E. Rice, professor emeritus, Notre Dame Law School

With the transparency of a converted heart, the brilliance of a top legal mind, the honesty of his own personal struggles and understated moral outrage, Dale takes us to the radical edge of following Jesus fully. Travel with him from elite board rooms to the sights, sounds and smells of Floridas death row. Your life will be challenged andbe preparedit may well be changed.

Don Williams, Ph.D., pastor and author of thirteen books

Dale Recinella was a successful, high-flying lawyer until God took him by the scruff of the neck and let him know He had other plans for his life. If ever we needed a prod to reexamine our self-centered, materialistic lives, this book would do it. Dale doesnt preach. He simply tells his remarkable story from riches to rags, whichin the economy of Gods kingdomwas actually a journey from emptiness to abundance. Dale has often asked himself, Did Jesus really mean what He said? No one can read this riveting book without pausing to ask a similar question. And the response may well lead to a re-sorting of our own priorities.

Julie Belding, president, Baptist Womens Union of the South West Pacific; vice president, Australasian Religious Press Association

I hope this fine book receives a wide reading. We need to put intelligence, faith, passion and justice together in the same place, and Dale Recinella does this so wellbecause he has lived it first!

[Fr.] Richard Rohr, OFM, Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, New Mexico

This is a fascinating book that will give young people a good insight into what happens on death row in our country. By telling his own story with passages from the gospels that challenged him, Recinella invites the reader to wrestle with the question whether it is right to execute a human being. This is a must-read for high school and college students. My wife could not put the book down.

Johann Christoph Arnold, senior pastor, Church Communities International (also known as the Bruderhof)

This is a masterful work charting a professional and spiritual journey of one of the best project finance attorneys of our generation. The book recounts a fascinating and inspiring modern-day story of the authors worldly and spiritual metamorphosis to effect Gods will in his life and, hopefully, as a blueprint in our lives. The book is a challenge for everyone to find the true meaning of Gods will in our lives. It is a book that few people will be able to read without being moved.

Eugene Z. Grey, senior evaluation officer, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), London, England

A riveting, inspiring and heartbreaking account of what it means to try to bear witness to Christs love on death row. Pleaseread this book.

Dr. David P. Gushee, distinguished university professor of Christian ethics; director, Center for Theology and Public Life, Mercer University

To take Jesus at His word, as Dale Recinella has lived and written about, may mean a life journey that leads us in unexpected directions. The way up to heaven may likely be down the corporate ladder. A life of true freedom may mean walking into a prison. Let this powerful and gripping story of ordinary people being led in extraordinary ways inspire us all to believe that Jesus really meant what he said.

Pastor Russ Eanes, Mennonite Publishing Network,
Scottdale, Pennsylvania

This book comes with a health (or should it be wealth?) warning! Dale Recinella tackles two questions that most people avoid: Did Jesus mean what he said? and Does that mean I have to do something about it? Joining thereby the sadly small number of inspirational people in the history of the world who have been prepared to live for Jesus without limits, to literally do whatever it takes to get the job done, this is the story of how Dale, together with his wife, Susan, and their family, are willing to follow wherever Jesus leads, facing up to their fears along the way, no matter the personal cost. In the process they also have been able to use their lives to help a host of others. You were warned: Read this book at your own risk! But if you dont, youll never have the chance to find out what the secret of the true happiness was that Dale and Susan found.

Monica King, clergy spouse and former Florida coordinator of LifeLines (UK)

To live a life that makes no sense unless

the gospels are true...

To my children

Adelaide, Christopher, Jeanette,

Christina & Anthony

FOREWORD

Now I Walk on Death Row is a shocking book. It will make you uncomfortable. But if you are not uncomfortable in this world, you havent yet seen it as it is. The author has been, from the human standpoint, all the way up and all the way down, and has also come to see up and down from Gods point of viewexactly the reverse of the humans.