Roy Ratcliff

Roy Ratcliff
Personal life
Born
Roy G. Ratcliff[1]

1947 (age 77–78)
Matador, Texas, U.S.
SpouseSusan
Children2
Religious life
ReligionChristianity

Roy G. Ratcliff (born 1947) is an American Christian minister and author. He is best known for ministering to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin.

Personal life

Ratcliff grew up primarily in California. After graduating from high school in Wichita, Kansas, he graduated from Oklahoma Christian University in 1970. He and his wife Susan have two grown children. He currently resides in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin.[2]

Ministering to Jeffrey Dahmer

Ratcliff first visited Dahmer in prison in April 1994 and baptized him as a Christian[3] on May 10 in a whirlpool originally meant to treat injured prisoners. After this, Ratcliff visited Dahmer on a weekly basis, providing him with spiritual counseling and leading him in Bible study sessions. Six months later, Dahmer was murdered by a fellow prisoner Christopher Scarver.

Ratcliff conducted his funeral service on December 2, 1994, and eulogized him:

Jeff confessed to me his great remorse for his crimes. He wished he could do something for the families of his victims to make it right, but there was nothing he could do. He turned to God because there was no one else to turn to, but he showed great courage in his daring to ask the question, ‘Is heaven for me too?’ I think many people are resentful of him for asking that question. But he dared to ask, and he dared to believe the answer.

Ratcliff later wrote a book about his experiences titled Dark Journey, Deep Grace: Jeffrey Dahmer's Story of Faith (2006).[4]

Since ministering to Dahmer, Ratcliff has discipled prisoners in a number of Wisconsin prisons.

Bibliography

  • Ratcliff, Roy; Adams, Lindy (2006). Dark Journey, Deep Grace: Jeffrey Dahmer's Story of Faith, Abilene, Texas: Leafwood Publishers. ISBN 978-0-97677-902-5.

References

  1. ^ "R4202-206 Letters Commending The "Vow"". Pastor Russell. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  2. ^ Barry, Dan (2007-03-11). "He Befriended a Serial Killer, and Opened the Door to God". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2022-06-29. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  3. ^ New American Standard Bible (Reference ed.). Anaheim, Calif.: Foundation Publications. 1995. ISBN 0910618461. 38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
  4. ^ Anderson, Lauren (2022-10-09). "Roy Ratcliff Explains Why Jeffrey Dahmer Asked to Be Baptized in Prison". Showbiz Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  • [1] — features a review of Ratcliff's book about Jeffrey Dahmer


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