It was found that the experiences of the women in this study followed a trajectory from victim of abuse to perpetrator of violence to prison inmate. It was found that their experiences with religion and spirituality, in the past and in prison, provide insight into the highly complex and paradoxical relationship between religion, spirituality, and battered women’s experiences of domestic violence. Regardless of the religious upbringing of the women in this study, most had a significant spiritual awakening once inside prison, which enabled them to “turn bad into good.” Their experiences illustrate the need to continue research on the role of spirituality in the aftermath of violence and abuse. Also, their experiences reveal the importance of separating out the differences between religion and spirituality, as these women told stories about how religion harmed them and spirituality healed them. Despite emerging literature on the religious and spiritual experiences of battered women, little is known about women who are unable to leave an abusive relationship successfully. The question then is what is the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of the women who lived with violence and ended the lives of their intimate partners? Through in-depth interviews with 12 imprisoned battered women, this study explored the religious and spiritual experiences and beliefs of incarcerated battered women who killed abusive partners or (step) fathers, and examined the role that religion and spirituality played in the women’s lives before and during their incarceration. Table and references