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.
Probably the only place where a man can
Probably the only place where a man can feel really secure is in a maximum security prison, except for the imminent threat of release.
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.
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.
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 have never been contained except I
I have never been contained except I made the prison.
To make punishments efficacious, two
To make punishments efficacious, two things are necessary. They must never be disproportioned to the offence, and they must be certain.
We have our own system, ... and
We have our own system, ... and journalists in our system are not put in prison for embarrassing the government by revealing things the government might not wish to have revealed. The important thing is that our system, under which journalists can write without fear or favor, should continue.
A variety in punishment is of utility,
A variety in punishment is of utility, as well as a proportion.
Two men look out the same prison bars;
Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars.
No obligation to justice does force a
No obligation to justice does force a man to be cruel, or to use the sharpest sentence.
Crimes generally punish themselves.
Crimes generally punish themselves.
What is crime amongst the multitude, is
What is crime amongst the multitude, is only vice among the few.
Shyness is the prison of the heart.
Shyness is the prison of the heart.
Educate your children to self-control,
Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future lives and crimes to society.
Written laws are like spiders' webs, and
Written laws are like spiders' webs, and will, like them, only entangle and hold the poor and weak, while the rich and powerful will easily break through them.
Let us remember that justice must be
Let us remember that justice must be observed even to the lowest.
Wicked deeds are generally done, even
Wicked deeds are generally done, even with impunity, for the mere desire of occupation.
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.
What restrains us from killing is partly
What restrains us from killing is partly fear of punishment, partly moral scruple, and partly what may be described as a sense of humor.
Extreme justice is extreme injustice.
Extreme justice is extreme injustice.
Mere factual innocence is no reason not
Mere factual innocence is no reason not to carry out a death sentence properly reached.
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.
Well does Heaven have care that no man
Well does Heaven have care that no man secures happiness by crime.
To be at peace in crime! Ah, who can
To be at peace in crime! Ah, who can thus flatter himself.
