The worst prison is not of stone. It is of a throbbing heart, outraged by an infamous life.
When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist. When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat. When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out; I was not a trade unionist. When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law.
The common argument that crime is caused by poverty is a kind of slander on the poor.
Clemency alone makes us equal to the gods.
We don't seem to be able to check crime, so why not legalize it and then tax it out of business.
Every crime has, in the moment of its perpetration, Its own avenging angel--dark misgiving, An ominous sinking at the inmost heart.
Society has used the juvenile courts to create a caste system where there are throw-away people.
~James Bell
The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.
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.
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 treat prisoners well, they will be less angry, less inclined to violence inside prison, less likely to provoke violent actions by guards, less likely to have reason to file brutality lawsuits that cost taxpayers a bundle and waste administrators' time. And most important, well-treated prisoners will be less likely to leave prison angrier, more vicious and more inclined to criminal behavior than when they went in.
Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter? He went to prison for three years, not Princeton.
The best situation of all, and one frequently utilized, is for jails and prisons to allow volunteer ministers of all faiths to enter prisons and offer their services to the inmates who want them. That way, the religious needs of inmates are met but without government funds being spent.
The reformative effect of punishment is a belief that dies hard, chiefly I think, because it is so satisfying to our sadistic impulses.
The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.
I sometimes wish that people would put a little more emphasis upon the observance of the law than they do upon its enforcement.
The thoughts of a prisoner - they're not free either. They keep returning to the same things.
Once we are destined to live out our lives in the prison of our mind, our duty is to furnish it well.
I wrote a million words in the first year, and I could never have done that outside of prison.
Fast closed with double grills And triple gates–the cell To wicked souls is hell; But to a mind that's innocent 'Tis only iron, wood and stone.
Virtue pardons the wicked, as the sandal-tree perfumes the axe which strikes it.
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.
He who does not prevent a crime when he can, encourages it.
The refined punishments of the spiritual mode are usually much more indecent and dangerous than a good smack.
