If you strike at, imprison, or kill us,
If you strike at, imprison, or kill us, out of our prisons or graves we will still evoke a spirit that will thwart you, and perhaps, raise a force that will destroy you! We defy you! Do your worst!
It was only when I lay there on the
It was only when I lay there on the rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good. Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not between states nor between social classes nor between political parties, but right through every human heart, through all human hearts. And that is why I turn back to the years of my imprisonment and say, sometimes to the astonishment of those about me, bless you, prison, for having been a part of my life.
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law.
There are only two places in the world
There are only two places in the world where time takes precedence over the job to be done. School and prison.
Oh who is that young sinner with the
Oh who is that young sinner with the handcuffs on his wrist? And what has he been after that they groan and shake their fists? And wherefore is he wearing such a conscience-stricken air? Oh they're taking him to prison for the colour of his hair.
He who opens a school door, closes a
He who opens a school door, closes a prison.
The severest justice may not always be
The severest justice may not always be the best policy.
We're in a war. People who blast some
We're in a war. People who blast some pot on a casual basis are guilty of treason.
No crime has been without a precedent.
No crime has been without a precedent.
The most anxious man in a prison is the
The most anxious man in a prison is the governor.
He who does not prevent a crime when he
He who does not prevent a crime when he can, encourages it.
One should respect public opinion
One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny.
Trial by jury itself, instead of being a
Trial by jury itself, instead of being a security to persons who are accused, shall be a delusion, a mockery, and a snare.
Forgiveness, that noblest of all
Forgiveness, that noblest of all self-denial, is a virtue which he alone who can practise in himself can willingly believe in another.
Care should be taken that the punishment
Care should be taken that the punishment does not exceed the guilt; and also that some men do not suffer for offenses for which others are not even indicted.
A pedestal is as much a prison as any
A pedestal is as much a prison as any small, confined space.
Crimes generally punish themselves.
Crimes generally punish themselves.
Men are not prisoners of fate, but only
Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.
It is not at the table, but in prison,
It is not at the table, but in prison, that you learn who your true friends are.
When it comes to freedom, we are but
When it comes to freedom, we are but prisoners of our own desires.
There is a point at which even justice
There is a point at which even justice does injury.
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.
Prison continues, on those who are
Prison continues, on those who are entrusted to it, a work begun elsewhere, which the whole of society pursues on each individual through innumerable mechanisms of discipline.
Justice is that virtue of the soul which
Justice is that virtue of the soul which is distributive according to desert.
Hanging was the worst use a man could be
Hanging was the worst use a man could be put to.
