In
"Violence and the Word," Cover argues that the written and verbal
"interpretations" of the law that judges use to sentence those convicted of crimes
inevitably lead to acts of physical violence. To have any power, the law must be enacted in the
physical world. This enacting is not innocent, much as the judge in the courtroom might be
shielded from its worst aspects.
Looking at sentencing from the point of view
of the prisoner, the prisoner understands that his body is subjected to all sorts of coercion.
He can't not comply with the order, for example, that he go to prison: he knows will be dragged
out, probably beaten, and possibly killed if he does not walk out as commanded. In prison,
beyond being locked up, his body is subject to various forms of violence from guards and other
prisoners.
Cover wants his readers to understand the very
physical notion of justice, which centrally involves control of a human
body. As Cover puts it,
The "interpretations"
or "conversations" that are the...
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