I never told a victim story about my
I never told a victim story about my imprisonment. Instead, I told a transformation story - about how prison changed my outlook, about how I saw that communication, truth, and trust are at the heart of power.
Mere factual innocence is no reason not
Mere factual innocence is no reason not to carry out a death sentence properly reached.
Hard cases, it is said, make bad law.
Hard cases, it is said, make bad law.
Hanging was the worst use a man could be
Hanging was the worst use a man could be put to.
Society prepares the crime; the criminal
Society prepares the crime; the criminal commits it.
The common argument that crime is caused
The common argument that crime is caused by poverty is a kind of slander on the poor.
It is the deed that teaches, not the
It is the deed that teaches, not the name we give it. Murder and capital punishment are not opposites that cancel one another, but similars that breed their own kind.
He who does not prevent a crime when he
He who does not prevent a crime when he can, encourages it.
What is crime amongst the multitude, is
What is crime amongst the multitude, is only vice among the few.
We shall not yield to violence. We shall
We shall not yield to violence. We shall not be deprived of union freedoms. We shall never agree with sending people to prison for their convictions.
Justice is that virtue of the soul which
Justice is that virtue of the soul which is distributive according to desert.
Steal goods and you’ll go to prison,
Steal goods and you’ll go to prison, steal lands and you are a king.
In prisons, those things withheld from
In prisons, those things withheld from and denied to the prisoner become precisely what he wants most of all.
To be in prison so long, it's difficult
To be in prison so long, it's difficult to remember exactly what you did to get there.
We shall fight against them, throw them
We shall fight against them, throw them in prisons and destroy them.
Concepts of justice must have hands and
Concepts of justice must have hands and feet to carry out justice in every case in the shortest possible time and the lowest possible cost. That is the challenge to every lawyer and judge in America.
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.
Well, I don't think prisons are the
Well, I don't think prisons are the answer to everything, obviously.
Whatever is worthy to be loved for
Whatever is worthy to be loved for anything is worthy of preservation. A wise and dispassionate legislator, if any such should ever arise among men, will not condemn to death him who has done or is likely to do more service than injury to society. Blocks and gibbets are the nearest objects with legislators, and their business is never with hopes or with virtues.
Three hundred years ago a prisoner
Three hundred years ago a prisoner condemned to the Tower of London carved on the wall of his cell this sentiment to keep up his spirits during his long imprisonment: “It is not adversity that kills, but the impatience with which we bear adversity.”
And while God had work for Paul, he
And while God had work for Paul, he found him friends both in court and prison. Let persecutors send saints to prison, God can provide a keeper for their turn.
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.
Law is merely the expression of the will
Law is merely the expression of the will of the strongest for the time being, and therefore laws have no fixity, but shift from generation to generation.
Everyone is a prisoner of his own
Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices - just recognize them.
America is the land of the second chance
America is the land of the second chance – and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.
