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 English laws punish vice; the
The English laws punish vice; the Chinese laws do more, they reward virtue.
Mere factual innocence is no reason not
Mere factual innocence is no reason not to carry out a death sentence properly reached.
If two people fight on the street, whose
If two people fight on the street, whose fault is it? Who is the criminal? It is the government’s responsibility because the government has not educated the people to not make mistakes. The people have inadequate, incompetent education, so they make mistakes! It is such a fraud.
If punishment reaches not the mind and
If punishment reaches not the mind and makes not the will supple, it hardens the offender.
The world is a prison in which solitary
The world is a prison in which solitary confinement is preferable.
I am certain that nothing has done so
I am certain that nothing has done so much to destroy the juridical safeguards of individual freedom as the striving after this mirage of social justice.
Most people fancy themselves innocent of
Prison makes you a better judge of
Prison makes you a better judge of character. You pick up on people much faster.
No matter how you seem to fatten on a
No matter how you seem to fatten on a crime, that can never be good for the bee which is bad for the hive.
It is certain that the study of human
It is certain that the study of human psychology, if it were undertaken exclusively in prisons, would also lead to misrepresentation and absurd generalizations.
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.
In prison, you get the chance to see who
In prison, you get the chance to see who really loves you.
When is conduct a crime, and when is a
When is conduct a crime, and when is a crime not a crime? When Somebody Up There -- a monarch, a dictator, a Pope, a legislator -- so decrees.
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.
Prison continues, on those who are
Prison continues, on those who are entrusted to it, a work begun elsewhere, which the whole of society pursues on each individual through innumerable mechanisms of discipline.
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.
I never told a victim story about my
I never told a victim story about my imprisonment. Instead, I told a transformation story - about how prison changed my outlook, about how I saw that communication, truth, and trust are at the heart of power.
We don't seem to be able to check crime,
We don't seem to be able to check crime, so why not legalize it and then tax it out of business.
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.
While we have prisons it matters little
While we have prisons it matters little which of us occupy the cells.
I sometimes wish that people would put a
I sometimes wish that people would put a little more emphasis upon the observance of the law than they do upon its enforcement.
To try to raise a son from inside the
To try to raise a son from inside the prison walls is a very difficult thing. But I want to say to the world my son at 16 was the one who tried the most to get me out of prison.
~Jim Bakker
Crime is a logical extension of the sort
Crime is a logical extension of the sort of behavior that often [is] considered perfectly respectable in legitimate business.
