There is no greater punishment of
There is no greater punishment of wickedness that that it is dissatisfied with itself and its deeds.
Women have worked hard; starved in
Women have worked hard; starved in prison; given of their time and lives that we might sit in the House of Commons and take part in the legislating of this country.
The common argument that crime is caused
The common argument that crime is caused by poverty is a kind of slander on the poor.
I have been studying how I may compare
I have been studying how I may compare This prison where I live unto the world; And, for because the world is populous, And here is not a creature but myself, I cannot do it. Yet I'll hammer it out.
No written law has been more binding
No written law has been more binding than unwritten custom supported by popular opinion.
Oh who is that young sinner with the
Oh who is that young sinner with the handcuffs on his wrist? And what has he been after that they groan and shake their fists? And wherefore is he wearing such a conscience-stricken air? Oh they're taking him to prison for the colour of his hair.
Vices are not crimes.
Vices are not crimes.
The torment of human frustration,
The torment of human frustration, whatever its immediate cause, is the knowledge that the self is in prison, its vital force and 'mangled mind' leaking away in lonely, wasteful self-conflict.
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.
By noiselessly going to a prison a
By noiselessly going to a prison a civil-resister ensures a calm atmosphere.
The law does not pretend to punish
The law does not pretend to punish everything that is dishonest. That would seriously interfere with business.
We shall fight against them, throw them
We shall fight against them, throw them in prisons and destroy them.
The world itself is but a large prison,
The world itself is but a large prison, out of which some are daily led to execution.
Liberty is rendered even more precious
Liberty is rendered even more precious by the recollection of servitude.
It isn't true that convicts live like
It isn't true that convicts live like animals: animals have more room to move around.
Only free men can negotiate. Prisoners
Only free men can negotiate. Prisoners cannot enter into contracts.
Nor cell, nor chain, nor dungeon speaks
Nor cell, nor chain, nor dungeon speaks to the murderer like the voice of solitude.
I don't like jail, they got the wrong
I don't like jail, they got the wrong kind of bars in there.
Man is condemned to be free.
Man is condemned to be free.
Hard cases, it is said, make bad law.
Hard cases, it is said, make bad law.
Crime succeeds by sudden despatch;
Crime succeeds by sudden despatch; honest counsels gain vigor by delay.
It is true you cannot eat freedom and
It is true you cannot eat freedom and you cannot power machinery with democracy. But then neither can political prisoners turn on the light in the cells of a dictatorship.
We have initiated programs for re-entry
We have initiated programs for re-entry offenders, since some 500,000 to 600,000 offenders will come out of prison each year for the next three or four years. We want to have positive alternatives when they come back to the community.
I have paid no poll-tax for six years. I
I have paid no poll-tax for six years. I was put into a jail once on this account, for one night; and, as I stood considering the walls of solid stone, I could not help being struck with the foolishness of that institution which treated me as if I were mere flesh and blood and bones, to be locked up...I saw that, if there was a wall of stone between me and my townsmen, there was a still more difficult one to climb or break through, before they could get to be as free as I was. I did not for a moment feel confined, and the walls seemed a great waste of stone and mortar.
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.
