In my country we go to prison first and
In my country we go to prison first and then become President.
Hard cases, it is said, make bad law.
Hard cases, it is said, make bad law.
Mere factual innocence is no reason not
Mere factual innocence is no reason not to carry out a death sentence properly reached.
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.
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.
It is the spirit and not the form of law
It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.
The mellow sweetness of pumpkin pie off
The mellow sweetness of pumpkin pie off a prison spoon is something you will never forget.
The worst prison is not of stone. It is
The worst prison is not of stone. It is of a throbbing heart, outraged by an infamous life.
Justice is justice though it's always
Justice is justice though it's always delayed and finally done only by mistake.
I existed in a world that never is - the
I existed in a world that never is - the prison of the mind.
The degree of civilization in a society
The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.
Crimes lead one into another; they who
Crimes lead one into another; they who are capable of being forgers are capable of being incendiaries.
The English laws punish vice; the
The English laws punish vice; the Chinese laws do more, they reward virtue.
The most anxious man in a prison is the
The most anxious man in a prison is the governor.
We who live in prison, and in whose
We who live in prison, and in whose lives there is no event but sorrow, have to measure time by throbs of pain, and the record of bitter moments.
The world is a prison in which solitary
The world is a prison in which solitary confinement is preferable.
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.
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.
I can work for the Lord in or out of
I can work for the Lord in or out of prison.
Faults of the head are punished in this
Faults of the head are punished in this world, those of the heart in another; but as most of our vices are compound, so also is their punishment.
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law.
What restrains us from killing is partly
What restrains us from killing is partly fear of punishment, partly moral scruple, and partly what may be described as a sense of humor.
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.
Vices are not crimes.
Vices are not crimes.
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.
