Jett's Story.
"State Prison, Frankfort, Ky., March 13, 1909.—To the Whole World: I want to let the whole world know what God in his great mercy has done for me, and prove to you by words which are true that Jesus is willing, able and does save to the uttermost. After a life of sin and shame, God sent his Holy Spirit into my soul and made a new man out of me. It was in this wise: A dear, good woman who is dead now, but who then lived in Lexington; her name was Mrs. Fanny A. Penn—I shall never forget that name—she wrote me a good Christian letter, full of good advice, and begged me to become a Christian. I had never seen her, or she me, as I know of; she had only read in the press regarding what a desperado and outlaw I was. I read her letter and it sounded like a fairy tale to me, with no sense in it; but after reflection, I answered it, and we began to be good friends, and she kept begging me to turn from my sinful ways and be a Christian man.
Read New Testament.
"I want to state right here that because a man is in prison, he don't have to be a Christian or behave himself; and Mrs. Penn sent me a small revised Testament and begged me to read it. At first I laid it up and would not read it. I don't remember of ever reading a whole chapter in a Bible up until that time in my whole life; and at last, by her begging me in every letter to read my Testament, I began to read it, and started out with a resolution to read it through, and after I began to read, I became interested in it, and the more I read it the deeper I became interested in it, and God's Holy Spirit began to work in me, and I began to pray. At first it seemed that I was afraid that God would not answer my prayers, but still something made me pray anyway, and it wasn't long until I was praying to God every night from one to three times, from the depths of my heart. I had taken his name in vain ever since I was a child, and I asked him to make me quit taking his name in vain, and after a day at my work, and when I would curse God, I would think of my prayers, and then at night when I would go to my cell, I would let my thoughts wander over a day that had just passed, and I could tell after reflecting that I hadn't cursed so much that day. And little by little God removed that evil spirit, cursing, from me, until one night when I went to my cell and my thoughts wandered over the day that had just passed, and not an oath had I uttered, and I was happier than ever before, I fell on my knees on the hard stone floor, and thanked God for His goodness and for removing that swearing away from me.
Quits Smoking Cigarettes.
"I had smoked cigarettes for at least fifteen years and I quit them. I was full of revenge and hatred, and I cried aloud to God in my lonely cell to redeem my soul, which He did, and it wasn't long before I was a friend to everyone and praising God for full and free salvation. He has made a new man out of me. The Holy Spirit is like a fever, and it is all and all before a man gets right with God. Condemning and deceitful spirits will rise up in a man, but all we have to do is to ask God and he will remove them all; to live a true Christian life is the straightest life that anyone ever tried to walk. It is a great warfare. I read and study my Bible and have learned a great deal about God's word since I joined the church, a few short months ago, under a great, good and noble man of Frankfort by the name of C. R. Hudson, and I love him as a very dear brother. There is not a man in all this world that I hold the least bit of malice against, and before I got right with God I had revenge in me against many.
Warns Young Men.
"Young men, as you read this, from one who has done many and great wrongs, take warning; shun evil companions and don't do as I have done in days gone by. Don't be led astray by older heads, for the man that will advise you to do a wrong is not your friend; but I could not see it that way. God has given me a new mind and I know as well as I know that I am living that religion is true, real and no fake, as I once thought.
Has Been Born Again.
"I was raised on a Bluegrass farm in Madison County, Kentucky, and my parents were as good a father and mother as ever lived; but my father died while I was young and I went from bad to worse, committing crime after crime, and I am guilty of the charges against me, but God has forgiven me of every wrong I ever did. Why won't the Governor? All the punishment that I will ever have to go through with will be on this earth, for God has forgiven me of every wrong and I have a clear conscience now, for I have been born again. There are so many men in prison that trample the lowly God under foot to try and gain their freedom in that way, and I hope that no one single person that reads this will think that I am making mockery of God's love, for I am sincere with God, as I used to be with Satan. I wish that every paper in the whole world would publish this so that it could have a chance to touch the hearts of many sinful men; I long to tell the story to young men, from East to West, from North to South, how God redeemed my soul.