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.
Here the great art lies, to discern in
Here the great art lies, to discern in what the law is to be to restraint and punishment, and in what things persuasion only is to work.
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.
They were being driven to a prison,
They were being driven to a prison, through no fault of their own, in all probability for life. In comparison, how much easier it would be to walk to the gallows than to this tomb of living horrors!
On average, drug prisoners spend more
On average, drug prisoners spend more time in federal prison than rapists, who often get out on early release because of the overcrowding in prison caused by the Drug War.
We judge ourselves by what we feel
We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.
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.
As we grow in wisdom, we pardon more
As we grow in wisdom, we pardon more freely.
To trial bring her stolen charms, and
To trial bring her stolen charms, and let her prison be my arms.
The severest justice may not always be
The severest justice may not always be the best policy.
We're in a war. People who blast some
We're in a war. People who blast some pot on a casual basis are guilty of treason.
The difference between tax avoidance and
The difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion is the thickness of a prison walls.
The guilt of enforced crimes lies on
The guilt of enforced crimes lies on those who impose them.
When it comes to freedom, we are but
When it comes to freedom, we are but prisoners of our own desires.
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.
No obligation to justice does force a
No obligation to justice does force a man to be cruel, or to use the sharpest sentence.
They're not supposed to show prison
They're not supposed to show prison films in prison. Especially ones that are about escaping.
Those magistrates who can prevent crime,
Those magistrates who can prevent crime, and do not, in effect encourage it.
Laws do not persuade just because they
Laws do not persuade just because they threaten.
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.
It is not at the table, but in prison,
It is not at the table, but in prison, that you learn who your true friends are.
The degree of civilization in a society
The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.
Hanging was the worst use a man could be
Hanging was the worst use a man could be put to.
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.
If you strike at, imprison, or kill us,
If you strike at, imprison, or kill us, out of our prisons or graves we will still evoke a spirit that will thwart you, and perhaps, raise a force that will destroy you! We defy you! Do your worst!
