There are dreadful punishments enacted
There are dreadful punishments enacted against thieves; but it were much better to make such good provisions, by which every man might be put in a method how to live, and so to be preserved from the fatal necessity of stealing and dying for it.
The only effect of public punishment is
The only effect of public punishment is to show the rabble how bravely it can be borne; and that every one who hath lost a toe-nail hath suffered worse.
You utter a vow, or forge a signature,
You utter a vow, or forge a signature, and you may find yourself bound for life to a monastery, a woman, or prison.
A pedestal is as much a prison as any
A pedestal is as much a prison as any small, confined space.
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 number of laws is constantly growing
The number of laws is constantly growing in all countries and, owing to this, what is called crime is very often not a crime at all, for it contains no element of violence or harm.
Virtue pardons the wicked, as the
Virtue pardons the wicked, as the sandal-tree perfumes the axe which strikes it.
What is crime amongst the multitude, is
What is crime amongst the multitude, is only vice among the few.
Mere factual innocence is no reason not
Mere factual innocence is no reason not to carry out a death sentence properly reached.
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.
To be at peace in crime! Ah, who can
To be at peace in crime! Ah, who can thus flatter himself.
Self is the only prison that can bind
Self is the only prison that can bind the soul.
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.
Once we are destined to live out our
Once we are destined to live out our lives in the prison of our mind, our duty is to furnish it well.
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.
The power of punishment is to silence,
The power of punishment is to silence, not to confute.
Justice is justice though it's always
Justice is justice though it's always delayed and finally done only by mistake.
Liberty is rendered even more precious
Liberty is rendered even more precious by the recollection of servitude.
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.
Justice renders to every one his due.
Justice renders to every one his due.
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.
A man who has no excuse for a crime, is
A man who has no excuse for a crime, is indeed defenseless!
Assassination is the extreme form of
Assassination is the extreme form of censorship.
Nothing can be more abhorrent to
Nothing can be more abhorrent to democracy than to imprison a person or keep him in prison because he is unpopular. This is really the test of civilization.
Hard cases, it is said, make bad law.
Hard cases, it is said, make bad law.
