Roy Ratcliff

Roy G. Ratcliff is an American Christian minister and author. He is best known for ministering to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer at the Columbia [Correctional Institution |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.

Ministering to Jeffrey Dahmer

Ratcliff first visited Dahmer in prison in April 1994 and baptized him as a Christian on May 10 in a whirlpool originally meant to treat injured prisoners. After this, Ratcliff visited Dahmer weekly, providing him with spiritual counseling and leading him in Bible study sessions. Six months later, Dahmer was murdered on the 28th of November 1994 by a fellow prisoner Christopher Scarver.
Ratcliff conducted his funeral service on December 2, 1994, and eulogized him:
Ratcliff later wrote a book about his experiences titled Dark Journey, Deep Grace: Jeffrey Dahmer's Story of Faith.
Since ministering to Dahmer, Ratcliff has discipled prisoners in several Wisconsin prisons.