Concepts of justice must have hands and
Concepts of justice must have hands and feet to carry out justice in every case in the shortest possible time and the lowest possible cost. That is the challenge to every lawyer and judge in America.
No obligation to justice does force a
No obligation to justice does force a man to be cruel, or to use the sharpest sentence.
The public have more interest in the
The public have more interest in the punishment of an injury than he who receives it.
Those magistrates who can prevent crime,
Those magistrates who can prevent crime, and do not, in effect encourage it.
The perfection of a thing consists in
The perfection of a thing consists in its essence; there are perfect criminals, as there are men of perfect probity.
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.
Crimes lead one into another; they who
Crimes lead one into another; they who are capable of being forgers are capable of being incendiaries.
Man is condemned to be free.
Man is condemned to be free.
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.
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.
Money will determine whether the accused
Money will determine whether the accused goes to prison or walks out of the courtroom a free man.
There are few better measures of the
There are few better measures of the concern a society has for its individual members and its own well being than the way it handles criminals.
The worst of prison life, he thought,
The worst of prison life, he thought, was not being able to close his door.
The common argument that crime is caused
The common argument that crime is caused by poverty is a kind of slander on the poor.
The punishment can be remitted; the
The punishment can be remitted; the crime is everlasting.
A variety in punishment is of utility,
A variety in punishment is of utility, as well as a proportion.
It isn't true that convicts live like
It isn't true that convicts live like animals: animals have more room to move around.
The degree of civilization in a society
The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Man is born free, and everywhere he is
Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.
If we were brought to trial for the
If we were brought to trial for the crimes we have committed against ourselves, few would escape the gallows.
To be at peace in crime! Ah, who can
To be at peace in crime! Ah, who can thus flatter himself.
