Roy Ratcliff

Who is Roy Ratcliff?

Roy Ratcliff is an American Christian ministry and author. In 1994 he formed a friendship with the converted serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, eventually baptizing Dahmer just eight months before Dahmer was killed in prison in Portage, Wisconsin.

Ratcliff grew up primarily in California. After graduating from high school in Wichita, Kansas, he went on to graduate from Oklahoma Christian University in 1970.

Since taking on the opportunity to minister to Dahmer in 1994, Ratcliff has discipled prisoners in a number of Wisconsin prisons. He later wrote a book about his experiences ministering to Dahmer titled Dark Journey, Deep Grace: Jeffrey Dahmer's Story of Faith. After Dahmer was murdered in prison, Ratcliff conducted his funeral service on December 2, 1994, delivering these words:

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.