Mere factual innocence is no reason not
Mere factual innocence is no reason not to carry out a death sentence properly reached.
The world itself is but a large prison,
The world itself is but a large prison, out of which some are daily led to execution.
So justice while she winks at crimes,
So justice while she winks at crimes, Stumbles on innocence sometimes.
The world is a prison in which solitary
The world is a prison in which solitary confinement is preferable.
The only effect of public punishment is
The only effect of public punishment is to show the rabble how bravely it can be borne; and that every one who hath lost a toe-nail hath suffered worse.
In jail a man has no personality. He is
In jail a man has no personality. He is a minor disposal problem and a few entries on reports. Nobody cares who loves or hates him, what he looks like, what he did with his life. Nobody reacts to him unless he gives trouble. Nobody abuses him. All that is asked of him is that he go quietly to the right cell and remain quiet when he gets there. There is nothing to fight against, nothing to be mad at. The jailers are quiet men without animosity or sadism.
Virtue pardons the wicked, as the
Virtue pardons the wicked, as the sandal-tree perfumes the axe which strikes it.
You stuff somebody into the American
You stuff somebody into the American dream, and it becomes a prison.
In my country we go to prison first and
In my country we go to prison first and then become President.
To trial bring her stolen charms, and
To trial bring her stolen charms, and let her prison be my arms.
Pardon is the virtue of victory.
Pardon is the virtue of victory.
No man survives when freedom fails. The
No man survives when freedom fails. The best men rot in filthy jails, and those who cry 'appease, appease' are hanged by those they tried to please.
I know not whether laws be right, or
I know not whether laws be right, or whether laws be wrong; All that we know who lie in gaol is that the wall is strong; And that each day is like a year, a year whose days are long.
The number of laws is constantly growing
The number of laws is constantly growing in all countries and, owing to this, what is called crime is very often not a crime at all, for it contains no element of violence or harm.
The idea that the sole aim of punishment
The idea that the sole aim of punishment is to prevent crime is obviously grounded upon the theory that crime can be prevented, which is almost as dubious as the notion that poverty can be prevented.
When is conduct a crime, and when is a
When is conduct a crime, and when is a crime not a crime? When Somebody Up There -- a monarch, a dictator, a Pope, a legislator -- so decrees.
Kill a man, and you are an assassin.
Kill a man, and you are an assassin. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill everyone, and you are a God.
Every crime has, in the moment of its
Every crime has, in the moment of its perpetration, Its own avenging angel--dark misgiving, An ominous sinking at the inmost heart.
Justice is that virtue of the soul which
Justice is that virtue of the soul which is distributive according to desert.
Body is a home, a prison and a grave.
Body is a home, a prison and a grave.
Intellectual despair results in neither
Intellectual despair results in neither weakness nor dreams, but in violence. It is only a matter of knowing how to give vent to one's rage; whether one only wants to wander like madmen around prisons, or whether one wants to overturn them.
Some laws of state aimed at curbing
Some laws of state aimed at curbing crime are even more criminal.
Prison makes you a better judge of
Prison makes you a better judge of character. You pick up on people much faster.
There is a point at which even justice
There is a point at which even justice does injury.
I wrote a million words in the first
I wrote a million words in the first year, and I could never have done that outside of prison.
