WASHINGTON (CNN) — Chuck Colson, the convicted Watergate figure turned evangelist, is near death after suffering a brain hemorrhage earlier this month, his media representatives said Wednesday.
“It is with a heavy, but hopeful heart that I share with you that it appears our friend, brother and founder will soon be home with the Lord,” said Jim Liske, CEO of Prison Fellowship Ministries, which Colson founded.
“Chuck’s condition took a decided turn yesterday, and the doctors advised Patty and the family to gather by his bedside,” Liske said, referring to Colson’s wife.
Colson, 80, underwent surgery this month to remove a pool of clotted blood on the surface of his brain.
Colson was special counsel to President Richard Nixon and the first member of the Nixon administration to serve prison time for charges stemming from the 1972 Watergate scandal.
“He admits he was guilty of political ‘dirty tricks” and willing to do almost anything for the cause of his president and his party,” according to Colson’s official biography.
In 1974, Colson served seven months of a one- to three-year sentence. Not long after his release, he founded Prison Fellowship, which calls itself “the world’s largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families,” with a presence in 113 countries.
By Dan Gilgoff
CNN.com Religion Editor
