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.”
The virtue of justice consists in
The virtue of justice consists in moderation, as regulated by wisdom.
In prison, you get the chance to see who
In prison, you get the chance to see who really loves you.
It is hard, but it is excellent, to find
It is hard, but it is excellent, to find the right knowledge of when correction is necessary and when grace doth most avail.
The English laws punish vice; the
The English laws punish vice; the Chinese laws do more, they reward virtue.
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.
While we have prisons it matters little
While we have prisons it matters little which of us occupy the cells.
No obligation to justice does force a
No obligation to justice does force a man to be cruel, or to use the sharpest sentence.
Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X came out of
Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X came out of prison stronger.
It is the spirit and not the form of law
It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.
Whatever you think of de Sade, he was a
Whatever you think of de Sade, he was a complex figure and we should not look for easy answers with him. He was, strangely perhaps, against the death penalty, and he was never put in prison for murders or anything like that.
One man meets an infamous punishment for
One man meets an infamous punishment for that crime which confers a diadem upon another.
Written laws are like spiders' webs, and
Written laws are like spiders' webs, and will, like them, only entangle and hold the poor and weak, while the rich and powerful will easily break through them.
A variety in punishment is of utility,
A variety in punishment is of utility, as well as a proportion.
Man is born free, and everywhere he is
Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.
The object of punishment is prevention
The object of punishment is prevention from evil; it never can be made impulsive to good.
Organized crime in America takes in over
Organized crime in America takes in over forty billion dollars a year. This is quite a profitable sum, especially when one considers that the Mafia spends very little for office supplies.
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law.
There is no peace because the making of
There is no peace because the making of peace is at least as costly as the making of war - at least as exigent, at least as disruptive, at least as liable to bring disgrace and prison and death in its wake.
Civilization is maintained by a very few
Civilization is maintained by a very few people in a small number of places and we need only some bombs and a few prisons to blot it out altogether.
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.
When I was in prison, I was wrapped up
When I was in prison, I was wrapped up in all those deep books. That Tolstoy crap - people shouldn't read that stuff.
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.
They're not supposed to show prison
They're not supposed to show prison films in prison. Especially ones that are about escaping.
Educate your children to self-control,
Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future lives and crimes to society.
