c. 2006 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) On April 6, 1994, Wisconsin pastor Roy Ratcliff received an extraordinary phone call. Would he baptize Jeffrey Dahmer, the “Milwaukee Monster” who had killed and dismembered 17 victims before storing their body parts in his apartment and often eating the remains?

After a brief meeting with the infamous killer in prison, Ratcliff, a Church of Christ minister, baptized him and began meeting with him regularly to build his faith. Dahmer was killed by another inmate in 1994 while serving 15 consecutive life sentences.

Ratcliff, 59, chronicles the experience in a new book, “Dark Journey, Deep Grace: Jeffrey Dahmer’s Story of Faith” (Leafwood Publishers), to be released in November.

Q: What was your first impression of Jeffrey Dahmer?

A: When I first met him, I was surprised at how comfortable I felt. He was very respectful of me and very attentive to anything I said. He was very cooperative and very courteous. He came across at first as a very fine young man. I realize we’re talking about someone who’s committed a lot of murders, so in my initial meeting with him, he wasn’t nearly as frightening as I thought he was going to be.

Q: What did getting baptized mean to him?

A: Well, primarily it meant washing away his sins. It meant getting right with God. It meant getting rid of the history or the past, as far as the spiritual side is concerned. It did not mean no longer being guilty as far as the state was concerned. But it did mean getting right with God.

Q: So how did Dahmer live life and serve God as best he could for the remainder of his days?

A: One thing I tried to instill in him was to be the best prisoner he could possibly be. That is, to not cause problems and be as cooperative as possible. To obey the rules and regulations regardless of how ridiculous or silly he thought they were. (It meant) going to church as much as possible, hanging around other Christians and spending as much time as he could in worship and in prayer and studying the Word of God. Later on, he would want to try to share some of this with his fellow inmates.

Q: When you talked about remorse after baptism, were you convinced he was remorseful for all his crimes?

A: Yes, very much so. On one occasion, he had mentioned that he felt so remorseful that he thought the state should have put him to death. I agreed with him and said the state should have put him to death. His answer was, “Well, if that’s true, then am I sinning by living?” I don’t think you can ask such a deep question without feeling a sense of remorse.

Q: How could someone with a conscience do the terrible things he did? What did you learn about that?

A: Everyone’s favorite question is, do I know why he did these things? The answer is, I don’t have any idea at all. … But on one occasion, we were studying the book of Hebrews and we came upon a passage about the deceitfulness of sin. He said as long as he was able to hide the bodies and the various things, he could pretend nothing had happened at all.

Q: You say in your book that many Christians resented you for baptizing Dahmer. Do you still experience repercussions for having done it?

A: I’ve never experienced any repercussions to my face. People have been rather hypocritical about it. They will, to my face, praise me and tell me how wonderful it is. Then I’ll hear comments from others who are hearing the same people, who had praised me, cutting me down behind my back.

Q: Dahmer was killed in prison 12 years ago. Why is your book coming out just now after so many years?

A: Well, I resisted writing it for a long time. My arm was twisted very hard by my wife and my daughter. I’m also a very busy minister and elder, and I have an active prison ministry. So it’s been hard to squeeze out the time.

Q: Did the experience of ministering to such an infamous personality as Jeffrey Dahmer change your understanding of God?

A: Perhaps it deepened my understanding of God. … It probably emphasized more the mercifulness of God and willingness on God’s part to forgive. Where there’s a problem with forgiveness, I think it’s more human than divine in origin. I think sometimes we have a hard time comprehending God’s ability to forgive.

Most of the people I’ve talked with really struggle with the idea of God forgiving someone like Jeffrey Dahmer. In my mind, they just don’t understand the nature of God.

KRE/PH END MACDONALD

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