Those magistrates who can prevent crime,
Those magistrates who can prevent crime, and do not, in effect encourage it.
The only difference between me and my
The only difference between me and my fellow actors is that I've spent more time in jail.
It is the spirit and not the form of law
It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.
To seek the redress of grievances by
To seek the redress of grievances by going to law, is like sheep running for shelter to a bramble bush.
Well, I don't think prisons are the
Well, I don't think prisons are the answer to everything, obviously.
Crimes generally punish themselves.
Crimes generally punish themselves.
The virtue of justice consists in
The virtue of justice consists in moderation, as regulated by wisdom.
Crimes lead one into another; they who
Crimes lead one into another; they who are capable of being forgers are capable of being incendiaries.
So justice while she winks at crimes,
So justice while she winks at crimes, Stumbles on innocence sometimes.
In the halls of justice, the only
In the halls of justice, the only justice is in the halls.
There is no greater punishment of
There is no greater punishment of wickedness that that it is dissatisfied with itself and its deeds.
It isn't true that convicts live like
It isn't true that convicts live like animals: animals have more room to move around.
By noiselessly going to a prison a
By noiselessly going to a prison a civil-resister ensures a calm atmosphere.
It is certain that the study of human
It is certain that the study of human psychology, if it were undertaken exclusively in prisons, would also lead to misrepresentation and absurd generalizations.
When you are younger you get blamed for
When you are younger you get blamed for crimes you never committed and when you're older you begin to get credit for virtues you never possessed. It evens itself out.
One of the many lessons that one learns
One of the many lessons that one learns in prison is, that things are what they are and will be what they will be.
It is true you cannot eat freedom and
It is true you cannot eat freedom and you cannot power machinery with democracy. But then neither can political prisoners turn on the light in the cells of a dictatorship.
Man is born free, and everywhere he is
Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.
A variety in punishment is of utility,
A variety in punishment is of utility, as well as a proportion.
I have never been contained except I
I have never been contained except I made the prison.
Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten
Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass, Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron, Can be retentive to the strength of spirit; But life, being weary of these worldly bars, Never lacks power to dismiss itself.
I am certain that nothing has done so
I am certain that nothing has done so much to destroy the juridical safeguards of individual freedom as the striving after this mirage of social justice.
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.
I submit that an individual who breaks a
I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.
Assassination is the extreme form of
Assassination is the extreme form of censorship.
