Every instance of a man's suffering the
Every instance of a man's suffering the penalty of the law is an instance of the failure of that penalty in effecting its purpose, which is to deter.
We judge ourselves by what we feel
We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.
Let us remember that justice must be
Let us remember that justice must be observed even to the lowest.
To make punishments efficacious, two
To make punishments efficacious, two things are necessary. They must never be disproportioned to the offence, and they must be certain.
While we have prisons it matters little
While we have prisons it matters little which of us occupy the cells.
Assassination is the extreme form of
Assassination is the extreme form of censorship.
Do not lay on the multitude the blame
Do not lay on the multitude the blame that is due to a few.
The public have more interest in the
The public have more interest in the punishment of an injury than he who receives it.
Corporal punishment falls far more
Corporal punishment falls far more heavily than most weighty pecuniary penalty.
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.
It is more dangerous that even a guilty
It is more dangerous that even a guilty person should be punished without the forms of law than that he should escape.
They were being driven to a prison,
They were being driven to a prison, through no fault of their own, in all probability for life. In comparison, how much easier it would be to walk to the gallows than to this tomb of living horrors!
The difference between tax avoidance and
The difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion is the thickness of a prison walls.
The only real prison is fear, and the
The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.
I know not whether laws be right, or
I know not whether laws be right, or whether laws be wrong; All that we know who lie in gaol is that the wall is strong; And that each day is like a year, a year whose days are long.
No man should be judge in his own case.
No man should be judge in his own case.
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.
Some laws of state aimed at curbing
Some laws of state aimed at curbing crime are even more criminal.
The penalty for laughing in a courtroom
The penalty for laughing in a courtroom is six months in jail; if it were not for this penalty, the jury would never hear the evidence.
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law.
Most people fancy themselves innocent of
The thoughts of a prisoner - they're not
The thoughts of a prisoner - they're not free either. They keep returning to the same things.
A country is in a bad state, which is
A country is in a bad state, which is governed only by laws; because a thousand things occur for which laws cannot provide, and where authority ought to interpose.
Women now have choices. They can be
Women now have choices. They can be married, not married, have a job, not have a job, be married with children, unmarried with children. Men have the same choice we've always had: work, or prison.
The refined punishments of the spiritual
The refined punishments of the spiritual mode are usually much more indecent and dangerous than a good smack.
