Some laws of state aimed at curbing
Some laws of state aimed at curbing crime are even more criminal.
Crimes lead one into another; they who
Crimes lead one into another; they who are capable of being forgers are capable of being incendiaries.
Intellectual despair results in neither
Intellectual despair results in neither weakness nor dreams, but in violence. It is only a matter of knowing how to give vent to one's rage; whether one only wants to wander like madmen around prisons, or whether one wants to overturn them.
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.
He was a first-time nonviolent possible
He was a first-time nonviolent possible offender, ... And under the mandatory minimums, he was put in prison for 15 years. Not only does the punishment not fit the crime, but the mandatory minimums don't give judges any discretion to look at the background of the case, to read into the specifics of the case. I don't know a judge who really is in favor of the mandatory minimums.
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.
In prisons, those things withheld from
In prisons, those things withheld from and denied to the prisoner become precisely what he wants most of all.
A variety in punishment is of utility,
A variety in punishment is of utility, as well as a proportion.
While we have prisons it matters little
While we have prisons it matters little which of us occupy the cells.
The object of punishment is prevention
The object of punishment is prevention from evil; it never can be made impulsive to good.
One crime has to be concealed by
One crime has to be concealed by another.
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.
No obligation to justice does force a
No obligation to justice does force a man to be cruel, or to use the sharpest sentence.
It is safer that a bad man should not be
It is safer that a bad man should not be accused, than that he should be acquitted.
It is impossible to go through life
It is impossible to go through life without trust: That is to be imprisoned in the worst cell of all, oneself.
If we look at Houston, which is a very
If we look at Houston, which is a very environmentally toxic place, we find that it has one of the highest levels of young men going to prison and also among the highest levels of illiteracy in the country.
Mere factual innocence is no reason not
Mere factual innocence is no reason not to carry out a death sentence properly reached.
A just chastisement may benefit a man,
A just chastisement may benefit a man, though it seldom does; but an unjust one changes all his blood to gall.
Steal goods and you’ll go to prison,
Steal goods and you’ll go to prison, steal lands and you are a king.
Distrust all in whom the impulse to
Distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful.
Crimes lead one into another; they who
Crimes lead one into another; they who are capable of being forgers are capable of being incendiaries.
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.
The law does not pretend to punish
The law does not pretend to punish everything that is dishonest. That would seriously interfere with business.
The worst prison is not of stone. It is
The worst prison is not of stone. It is of a throbbing heart, outraged by an infamous life.
I don't like being famous - it is like a
I don't like being famous - it is like a prison. And driving for Ferrari would make it far worse.
