Hanging was the worst use a man could be
Hanging was the worst use a man could be put to.
Overlook our deeds, since you know that
Overlook our deeds, since you know that crime was absent from our inclination.
The degree of civilization in a society
The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.
The English laws punish vice; the
The English laws punish vice; the Chinese laws do more, they reward virtue.
I have been studying how I may compare
I have been studying how I may compare this prison where I live unto the world; Shut up in the prison of their own consciences.
We don't seem to be able to check crime,
We don't seem to be able to check crime, so why not legalize it and then tax it out of business.
No man should be judge in his own case.
No man should be judge in his own case.
One crime has to be concealed by
One crime has to be concealed by another.
The law does not pretend to punish
The law does not pretend to punish everything that is dishonest. That would seriously interfere with business.
If it's near dinner-time, the foreman
If it's near dinner-time, the foreman takes out his watch when the jury has retired, and says: "Dear me, gentlemen, ten minutes to five, I declare! I dine at five, gentlemen." "So do I," says everybody else, except two men who ought to have dined at three and seem more than half disposed to stand out in consequence. The foreman smiles, and puts up his watch:--"Well, gentlemen, what do we say, plaintiff or defendant, gentlemen?
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.
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.
Any punishment that does not correct,
Any punishment that does not correct, that can merely rouse rebellion in whoever has to endure it, is a piece of gratuitous infamy which makes those who impose it more guilty in the eyes of humanity, good sense and reason, nay a hundred times more guilty than the victim on whom the punishment is inflicted.
A man who has no excuse for a crime, is
A man who has no excuse for a crime, is indeed defenseless!
We have initiated programs for re-entry
We have initiated programs for re-entry offenders, since some 500,000 to 600,000 offenders will come out of prison each year for the next three or four years. We want to have positive alternatives when they come back to the community.
One man meets an infamous punishment for
One man meets an infamous punishment for that crime which confers a diadem upon another.
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.
So justice while she winks at crimes,
So justice while she winks at crimes, Stumbles on innocence sometimes.
Self is the only prison that can bind
Self is the only prison that can bind the soul.
The object of punishment is prevention
The object of punishment is prevention from evil; it never can be made impulsive to good.
Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X came out of
Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X came out of prison stronger.
Hard cases, it is said, make bad law.
Hard cases, it is said, make bad law.
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.”
There's no greater threat to our
There's no greater threat to our independence, to our cherished freedoms and personal liberties than the continual, relentless injection of these insidious poisons into our system. We must decide whether we cherish independence from drugs, without which there is no freedom.
In my country we go to prison first and
In my country we go to prison first and then become President.
