Pleading With the Divine: The Religiosity of Resentencing

Abstract

The process of resentencing pushes incarcerated individuals to assume a position of absolute atonement and unceasing malleability to the legal system. This project is the beginning of an extensive research endeavor to explore how the law, in all of its facets, is a religious institution that punishes all who deviate from the normative thesis of humanhood. Contemporary sociopolitical landscapes hold the law above all things. It is a completely untouchable yet continually in flux. However, one thing remains constant: that the legal system’s treatment of the law is akin to how a worshipper views their deity. The process of resentencing, this project argues, is a weapon of the law to mold incarcerated people into its image—a process that mirrors religious modes of repentance and appeal to the divine—rituals that can be observed across religious traditions from time immemorial. This research endeavor involves largely qualitative methods using the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) as a case study—namely, it delves into the “journey letters” of incarcerated people. In addition, attending resentencing hearings was a sector of methodology. The project discovers that much of the language and attitudes in resentencing suggest a consideration of the law as divine. In viewing the legal system as a religious institution, its truth can be unearthed: the incredibly oppressive religiosity of the law has abused and will continue to abuse countless people.

View Community-Engaged Summer Fellowship project here.