Well, I don't think prisons are the
Well, I don't think prisons are the answer to everything, obviously.
Let us remember that justice must be
Let us remember that justice must be observed even to the lowest.
A man who has no excuse for a crime, is
A man who has no excuse for a crime, is indeed defenseless!
The reformative effect of punishment is
The reformative effect of punishment is a belief that dies hard, chiefly I think, because it is so satisfying to our sadistic impulses.
The contagion of crime is like that of
The contagion of crime is like that of the plague. Criminals collected together corrupt each other; they are worse than ever when at the termination of their punishment they re-enter society.
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.
Whatever is worthy to be loved for
Whatever is worthy to be loved for anything is worthy of preservation. A wise and dispassionate legislator, if any such should ever arise among men, will not condemn to death him who has done or is likely to do more service than injury to society. Blocks and gibbets are the nearest objects with legislators, and their business is never with hopes or with virtues.
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.
There is no greater punishment of
There is no greater punishment of wickedness that that it is dissatisfied with itself and its deeds.
Society prepares the crime; the criminal
Society prepares the crime; the criminal commits it.
To be at peace in crime! Ah, who can
To be at peace in crime! Ah, who can thus flatter himself.
Those magistrates who can prevent crime,
Those magistrates who can prevent crime, and do not, in effect encourage it.
In prison, you get the chance to see who
In prison, you get the chance to see who really loves you.
I wrote a million words in the first
I wrote a million words in the first year, and I could never have done that outside of prison.
The world is a prison in which solitary
The world is a prison in which solitary confinement is preferable.
How dreadful it is when the right judge
How dreadful it is when the right judge judges wrong.
The English laws punish vice; the
The English laws punish vice; the Chinese laws do more, they reward virtue.
The only difference between me and my
The only difference between me and my fellow actors is that I've spent more time in jail.
Prosecution I have managed to avoid; but
Prosecution I have managed to avoid; but I have been arrested, charged in a police court, have refused to be bound over, and thereupon have been unconditionally released - to my great regret; for I have always wanted to know what going to prison was like.
If you share the crime of your friend,
If you share the crime of your friend, you make it your own.
Forgiveness, that noblest of all
Forgiveness, that noblest of all self-denial, is a virtue which he alone who can practise in himself can willingly believe in another.
The severest justice may not always be
The severest justice may not always be the best policy.
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.
Crimes generally punish themselves.
Crimes generally punish themselves.
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.