Jeffrey Dahmer prison mugshot and Jeffrey Dahmer wearing a jumpsuit in court
True Crime

Jeffrey Dahmer’s baptism and faith journey in prison explored

Jeffrey Dahmer was baptised in prison shortly before he was killed

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During his final years in prison, Jeffrey Dahmer decided to convert to Christianity and be baptised.

Jeffrey Dahmer was a notorious serial killer in the 1970s-1990s, who murdered at least 17 victims.

But the new Netflix documentary, Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes confirms that the Milwaukee Monster became a born-again Christian just before he died.

So why did he get baptised and when? What other significant events happened that day?

Here’s everything you need to know.

Jeffrey Dahmer looks serious in prison mugshot
Jeffrey Dahmer got baptised in prison in 1994 (Credit: Netflix)

Why was Jeffrey Dahmer baptised in prison?

Not long after Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to life in prison, the serial killer tried to make peace with God by being baptised.

Jeffrey had had a history with religion in the past, as he used to attend his local church with his grandma went he went to live with her in 1981.

The serial killer went to church to try and resist his dark and violent urges, but it didn’t work.

Not long after he was back to murdering victims in his grandmother’s basement.

When Jeffrey was sent to prison in 1992, he decided to give his faith another shot.

The Milwaukee Monster would often read the Bible while in prison and eventually he decided to get baptised.

When was Jeffrey Dahmer baptised in prison?

Jeffrey got baptised while in prison at Columbia Correctional Institution in Wisconsin on May 10 1994.

The ceremony was conducted by minister Roy Ratcliff and took place in a prison whirlpool.

In the Netflix documentary, Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes, Roy Ratcliff talks about his experience baptising the serial killer.

He said: “I was nervous about meeting him. I’d never been to a prison before and I’d never been to a murderer before.

“I was sitting there thinking ‘wow I’m in a room with a guy who’s killed a lot of young men’.”

Roy Ratcliff also explained that he met with Jeffrey once a week after he was baptised.

The Pastor said: “I met him once a week from that point on for about an hour.

“He was a man that was simply growing in his faith, understanding what his faith was all about and then continuing each week.”

John Wayne Gacy with a straight face
Jeffrey Dahmer was baptised on the same day as John Wayne Gacy’s execution (Credit: Shutterstock)

Why was his baptism day so significant?

Jeffrey Dahmer was baptised in prison on May 10 1994.

True crime fans may also recognise the date for being the day another serial killer, John Wayne Gacy, was executed.

John Wayne Gacy, also known as The Killer Clown, murdered at least 33 young men and boys between 1972 and 1978.

As a result of his horrific crimes, John was put on death row in 1980.

John Wayne Gacy was eventually executed by lethal injection on the same day Jeffrey Dahmer became a born-again Christian.

To make the day even more bizarre, a solar eclipse was also recorded on the same day and could be seen across most of America.

At that time, TruTV described the astral event as “a celestial condemnation” of Jeffrey’s baptism.

Roy Ratcliff also mentioned in the Netflix documentary: “On the day of his baptism, John Wayne Gacy was executed and there was a full solar eclipse as well.

“Some tried to read into that as well as some kind of a mystical meaning behind all of this.”

God was also mentioned when Jeffrey was murdered by his fellow inmate Christopher Scarver on November 28 1994.

After he killed the cannibal with a metal bar, Christopher claimed: “God told me to do it.”

Read more: Who was Tony Hughes? The heartbreaking story behind Jeffrey’s deaf victim?

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Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes will be available to watch from Netflix on Friday October 07 2022.

What do you think of Jeffrey Dahmer’s baptism day? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.


Aaliyah Ashfield
Digital Marketing Apprentice

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