I also read that doctors removed Dahmer’s brain, preserving it for future study. Jeff’s mother, Joyce, wanted his brain studied to see if there was some biological physical evidence for why this happened to her son.
According to his will, Jeff wanted his body cremated as soon as possible and he didn’t want a funeral service. Officials preserved his body until after the trial of his killer, Christopher Scarver, then it was cremated.
Lionel Dahmer wanted Jeff’s brain cremated, too, against the wishes of his ex-wife. Lionel insisted there was nothing to learn from Jeff’s brain and that it was time to let go of the past. The two went to court and a judge ruled in favor of Lionel. Jeff’s brain was cremated on December 12, 1995. Lionel and Joyce split Jeff’s ashes and both tried to move on and live normal lives.
In 1996, an independent third party bought Dahmer’s belongings and destroyed them out of state so no one could ever find them.
If Jeff were still alive, he would be continuing to serve his life sentences. If he were still alive, I know I would still be writing to him and praying for him. I would still be telling him not to give up, and to put his life in God’s hands.
Even now, even after all these years, I still think about Jeff. It’s comforting for me to believe that he is finally at peace with himself, his crimes, men like Scarver who wronged him, and is with God in heaven.
I have told you my story with the hope that it may make you think about the power of God’s forgiveness. I give my highest thanks to God, who assisted with this project. I also thank God for all the messages about his goodness that are there for all of us in the Holy Bible, messages that have helped me learn what it means to be a Christian.
When we walk with God, we walk with a new assurance. Our problems may stay, our circumstances may not change, but we must know that God is in control. We, as Christians, must focus on God’s adequacy, not on our own inadequacies.
Because of my experience with Jeffrey Dahmer, I learned that there is no end to the seasons of fresh encounters we may have with God. We can never exhaust his goodness. Each time we have a personal encounter with Him, we will see more clearly our own weaknesses and that will help us, in turn, magnify the awesome reality of Christ’s love for us.
I also believe that God put a new being in Jeff’s heart. God called him to serve in all ways. It says in Deuteronomy 4:29 that “you shall find him when you search for him with all your hearts and souls.” II Corinthians 5:17 also tells us that when you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, “he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun!” (TLB)
I believe Jeffrey accepted Christ as his Savior and at that moment he, too, became new. His sins were forgiven and, from that moment, God never gave up on him.
Many people believe that God can only forgive sins that are no worse than the ones they, themselves commit. They think that God won’t or can’t possibly forgive sins against humanity such as the ones Dahmer committed. I say to those people to read Matthew 17:20: “For if you had faith even as small as a tiny mustard seed you could say to this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would go far away. Nothing would be impossible.” (TLB)
As Christians we must believe that nothing is impossible for God, including forgiveness of sins we think are beyond forgiveness.
I believe that, during the last years of his life, Jeffrey Dahmer took comfort in knowing God, his son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. After all, God did make a promise to us that if we serve with all our hearts, he will restore what the devil has destroyed within us. That promise is in John 3:3, “Unless you are born again, you can never get into the Kingdom of God.” (TLB)
When asked what “born again” meant, Jesus answered in John 3:5, “What I am telling you so earnestly is this: Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” (TLB) In other words, we must be baptized into the Christian faith.
During his incarceration at Columbia, in spring 1994, Jeffrey was baptized in a ceremony that guaranteed his entrance into the Kingdom of God. At that moment he was no longer an evil man possessed by the devil, but rather, a new creation.
The promise is there in John 5:24. Jesus himself was talking. “I say emphatically that anyone who listens to my message and believes in God who sent me has eternal life, and will never be damned for his sins, but has already passed out of death into life.” (TLB)
My prayer for each person who reads this book is that you have already or will soon experience the same goodness, forgiveness, and power of God, the Holy Spirit, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that Jeffrey Dahmer experienced. I also pray that you, too, will have the profound experience of sharing your faith with another lost soul the way I did.
God bless you.
Herman Martin
FINAL NOTES
During the process of researching and writing this book, based on the notes Herman Martin kept in prison, I interviewed many people including Dick Heath, special investigator for Milwaukee’s district attorney. Heath was present and videotaped the four-day, twenty-four-hour interview that prosecuting psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz conducted with Jeffrey Dahmer before the trial.
During that time, while Heath listened as Dahmer carefully detailed his crimes for Dr. Dietz, Heath indicated he never once saw or heard any racial motivation for what Dahmer did, nor did he hear any indication of racial prejudice from the prisoner himself.
Heath told me, “Jeffrey Dahmer did not brag or boast about his crimes in any way during any of the interviews I observed. Dahmer’s victims were white, black, Asian, American Indian, Hispanic, and Puerto Rican. The race didn’t matter to him. In fact, Jeff was kind to minorities. What he wanted was a young, small-boned, smooth-skinned male with a good physique. Jeff Dahmer was not a violent man. He never took one victim to his apartment against his will. He drugged all his victims before he killed them. It’s true, he was a coward who avoided confrontation, but he was definitely not a racist.”
While I wrote this book and read Herman’s notes that repeated over and over his belief that Dahmer was a racist, I asked Herman, “How could Dahmer say those hateful things about blacks when you, his friend, are a black man? How could the special investigator who witnessed twenty-four hours of questioning of Dahmer by Dr. Dietz, say that Jeff definitely was not a racist?”
Herman responded, “Mr. Heath was not in prison with the man. He’s entitled to his opinion. When I was in prison, I told doctors what I thought they wanted to hear. All prisoners do that. I think this is what Dahmer did, but he didn’t tell them everything. He was a racist. A prisoner will tell another prisoner the true story and based on what Jeff Dahmer told me in prison, I’d say he was a racist.”
Like Herman says in the last chapter, “Only God knows for sure.”
I just wanted to share both sides of the story.
Patricia Lorenz
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Herman Martin struggles daily to get back on his feet and stay with God because life outside prison is full of temptations. He has fought to gain control of his life by addressing his drug addiction. With the help of rehabilitation treatment centers in Milwaukee, he has tried hard to stay clean and avoid risky behaviors and situations. He has been to many centers, for both himself and for loved ones also struggling with addictions. The centers have helped by providing Herman with support, guidance, and the tools he needs to be successful in staying focused and taking responsibility for himself and for his drug recovery.
Herman plans to use the profits from this book to help his family as partial repayment for what he has taken from them and for all the pain he has caused. He also wants to give back to the community, helping those who are struggling with addictions and homelessness. He wants to make a difference.
Patricia Lorenz is an art-of-living writer and speaker. She’s the author of a dozen books and hundreds of articles and stories in magazines and newspapers. She lived in Milwaukee for twenty-four years, including the years Jeffrey Dahmer
was committing his crimes. She also worked at Milwaukee’s radio station, WTMJ, during the time that station broadcast the entire Dahmer trial.
Serial Killer's Soul Page 17