Career
He was the ninth Governor of Colorado from 1895 to 1897. In 1896 Governor McIntire sent the Colorado National Guard to Leadville due to violence at the Coronado Mine during a strike by the Western Federation of Miners. After McIntire refused to intervene, Ratcliff was hanged at the Colorado State Penitentiary at Cañon City.
He claimed that he had committed the murders to uphold the honorable reputation of his family.