Alex Kwon
Jerome Bump
01 February 2010
Compassion for a Serial Killer
Does everything and everyone deserve love and compassion? It is blatantly obvious that they should be loved, but in some cases, the answer is ambiguous. Does a homeless person deserve our compassion? A stingy millionaire? How about a serial killer? When I encountered the story of Jeffrey Dahmer, a serial killer, the question haunted me: does such a heinous person as Jeffrey Dahmer deserve our pity and compassion for his insanity? He claims that he converted to Christianity and found his inner calm with God, but most people are skeptical about this claim. Many people believe that he converted to Christianity just to be exonerated in his afterlife. When Christopher Scarver murdered Dahmer in 1994, everyone praised Scarver as a hero. However, as a human being, does he not deserve sympathy for being murdered?
Jeffrey Dahmer
I have done atrocious things in my life. I have killed seventeen men and boys and done unspeakable things to them before and after their deaths. These are some things I am not proud of, and if I could, I would take them back. I admit that I was driven to insanity due to my homosexuality; I wanted to suppress my feelings for males. Thus, I ended up secretly expressing my sexuality through my victims, and to hide my “abnormality”, I killed them. But I have changed through the grace of Jesus Christ. I know what I have done in my life is wrong, and although many people, especially the victims’ families, cannot forgive me for my sins, I hope they will reach inner peace like I.
I first encountered Christianity after I confessed on a TV show that I need inner peace. A true Christian lady name Mary Mott mailed a series of Bible lessons. At first I was skeptical of it. I did not know how to react; this was the first act of kindness I received from anyone since I was imprisoned.
Marry Mott
When I heard Dahmer on the TV show confessing that he longed for inner peace with himself, I could not help feeling sorry for him. I know he has done wrong, but who hasn’t? You might tell me normal people do not commit such grave sins, but he was not in the right state of mind! Plus, if you feel terrible after doing something small, just imagine how unsettled he feels with himself after what he has done. He has so much more burden than we do. Especially as a 
follower of Jesus Christ our savior who teaches loving others as oneself, I must feel compassion for his untouched soul.
I sent those bible lessons because I want him to hear about the greatness of Christianity. Honestly, as a Christian, it is my duty to save yet another lost lamb.
Jeffrey Dahmer
I completed the lessons and mailed them back to Mrs. Mott. Once I found out how amazing God truly is, I could not resist the temptation to be a Christian, but I felt unfit to be one after all the shameful acts I have done. Although I felt guilty for my longing to be saved, I confessed my will to be converted.
Marry Mott
I’m very excited! Jeffrey confessed his will to be a Christian. I will do everything in my power to help the poor thing. I hope he can find peace in God. No matter what anyone tells me, I know in my heart that I have done the right thing as a Christian and a person.
Jeffrey Dahmer
God heard my prayers and sent Pastor Roy Ratcliff to me. After he baptized me, he has been visiting me every week for an hour to teach me the Word of God. I’ve been learning more and more about this religion, and the more I learn about God’s infinite greatness, the more I feel ashamed of myself. At first, I felt uncomfortable in Pastor Ratcliff’s presence because I was embarrassed to talk to such a holy man face-to-face. However, Pastor Ratcliff treated me with love and kindness, which made me open up as time passed.
He taught me many things about Christianity and God. He told me that even an unforgivable sinner like me is purged by the blood of Christ. How great is this love that would exonerate even a sinner like me? I broke down, and in tears I confessed to the pastor that I was sorry for all the things I have done and asked God to help me never to sin again.
Roy Ratcliff
Initially, I had no idea that the inmate who expressed his wish to be baptized was Jeffrey Dahmer, an infamous criminal who is responsible seventeen accounts of rape, murder, and cannibalism. At first, I was reluctant to baptize him. Does a man such as Jeffrey really deserve God’s grace? Is it really fair for the rest of us if he gets saved by his faith? Is he earnest about his faith? All sorts of worldly questions hindered me from my decision to save his soul. I prayed for hours to find answer to my dilemma, and God answered. In God’s eyes, everyone is a grave sinner and deserves God’s love as his child, which is why Jesus Christ sacrificed himself to purge our sins. Who was I to think that Christ’s love was not enough to purge Jeffrey’s soul?
After I baptized him, I followed up with weekly session of Bible studies, so Jeffrey could know more about God. He was a shy young man in his mid-thirties. As time passed, he began to open up to me more and more. He asked good questions about Christianity as a religion and about my relationship with God. I admit that I too was once skeptical about his faith, but as I spent more time with him, I saw genuineness in his eyes. God really touched my heart when Jeffrey confessed, “I’m so sorry for what I’ve done. God help me, I’ll never do that again.” I could feel that he was truly regretful for his sins. I was amazed at God’s ability to change even a sinner like Jeffrey with his love.
Jeffrey Dahmer
I began to have suicidal thoughts. Did I really deserve to live in this world? Such a nasty, disgusting sinner like me should not be alive. I felt that I was sinning against God by continuing to live after what I have done. Perhaps, I would be doing a favor for me, the world, and God by killing myself. I confessed my question to Pastor Ratcliff, and he answered that yes I deserved to die for the sins I have committed. Although deep down in my heart that was true, it was another thing to hear those words coming out of a pastor. I asked if I was sinning by living, and he told me to read Romans 13 by next session. Little did he know there might not be a next time.
Throughout the week, I attempted to kill myself several times, but I just could not do it. I was scared of death and what lay after death. I realized for the first time that I was a worthless coward.
Roy Ratcliff
After I left Jeffrey, it occurred to me that Jeffrey might be thinking of taking his own life. I regretted saying he deserved to die without explaining what I meant by it. I prayed and prayed that Jeffrey would not do anything to harm himself.
Thankfully, Jeffrey was still healthy when I visited him a week after. I told him that even though he deserves death penalty for what he has done, God has a specific plan for him. Also, God wants people to submit to the State; thus, staying alive as the State has ordered is what will please God. Afterwards, I asked him whether he was thinking of committing a suicide, and he told me that he was thinking of killing himself in order to please God. Secretly, I was happy that he was willing to do anything to please God, but his motives were wrong. I told him that in order to please God, he must do his best in his duty. Since the State ordered him to be a prisoner, he must strive to be the best prisoner. When he heard this, he smiled widely and promised to be the best prisoner in Columbia Correctional Institution.
Jeffrey Dahmer
Since my last conversation with Pastor Ratcliff, I’ve been striving to be a model prisoner. Most guards are surprised by the changes they notice in me. I volunteer to help out and follow all the rules so that I don’t trouble any guards. Since I have changed, I have been making more friends now. I feel like more people see the change in me and accept me as a human being. I can honestly say that I am finally at peace with myself and God.
Roy Ratcliff
Many people are happy now that Jeffrey Dahmer is dead. They regard Christopher Scarver as a hero for killing a villain, but they must remember that Jeffrey was still murdered. You may tell me that he received what he deserved, but that does not justify Christopher Scarver’s actions either. Many fellow Christians have asked me for my opinion on Jeffrey’s faith. My answer is always the same: Yes, I am convinced that he was sincere. People who ask such question are in doubt because they judge Jeffrey for his crimes not his faith. They do not want to accept such man as a fellow Christian. It really bothers me that they judge Jeffrey for his past self rather than his post-Christian self. If they had the chance to know Jeffrey as a Christian, then they would have been convinced as well. Some wonder how can such a heinous man go to heaven, but who are they to question God’s love and his ability to forgive and purge all sins? All I can say is that I am glad I could save his poor lost soul before he met his dreadful end.
Does a heinous criminal such as Jeffrey Dahmer deserve humanity’s love and compassion? Ms. Mott and Pastor Ratcliff seem to think so. In the end, aren’t they also human beings? Perhaps it is harder to accept such criminals as one of us, but they also need to be loved and pitied. Love and compassion changed even a despicable criminal such as Jeffrey, which shows to prove that everyone deserves love and compassion.
List of illustrations
Figure 1: http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/usa/Figures-2/jeffrey-dahmer-in-court.jpg
Figure 3: http://www.isthmuscatholic.org/pictures/Bible1.jpg
Figure 4: http://behrns.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/prayer.jpg
Figure 5: http://www.poosk.com/wp-content/themes/poosk/Figures/Suicide.jpg
Figure 6: http://www.onelittleangel.com/common/images/auteur/Jesus_Christ_546.jpg
Word Count: 1858
