Our task must be to free ourselves from
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
Reality becomes a prison to those who
Reality becomes a prison to those who can’t get out of it.
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.
Some laws of state aimed at curbing
Some laws of state aimed at curbing crime are even more criminal.
It becomes not a law-maker to be a
It becomes not a law-maker to be a law-breaker.
Law is merely the expression of the will
Law is merely the expression of the will of the strongest for the time being, and therefore laws have no fixity, but shift from generation to generation.
No crime has been without a precedent.
No crime has been without a precedent.
If we look at Houston, which is a very
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.
Men are not prisoners of fate, but only
Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.
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.
When it comes to freedom, we are but
When it comes to freedom, we are but prisoners of our own desires.
There is no peace because the making of
There is no peace because the making of peace is at least as costly as the making of war - at least as exigent, at least as disruptive, at least as liable to bring disgrace and prison and death in its wake.
In the halls of justice, the only
In the halls of justice, the only justice is in the halls.
The object of punishment is prevention
The object of punishment is prevention from evil; it never can be made impulsive to good.
A variety in punishment is of utility,
A variety in punishment is of utility, as well as a proportion.
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.
The mellow sweetness of pumpkin pie off
The mellow sweetness of pumpkin pie off a prison spoon is something you will never forget.
Forgiveness, that noblest of all
Forgiveness, that noblest of all self-denial, is a virtue which he alone who can practise in himself can willingly believe in another.
Hard cases, it is said, make bad law.
Hard cases, it is said, make bad law.
Adversities such as being homeless and
Adversities such as being homeless and going to prison has made many people stronger.
I don't like jail, they got the wrong
I don't like jail, they got the wrong kind of bars in there.
The best situation of all, and one
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.
As we grow in wisdom, we pardon more
As we grow in wisdom, we pardon more freely.
A sick person is a prisoner.
A sick person is a prisoner.
Intellectual despair results in neither
Intellectual despair results in neither weakness nor dreams, but in violence. It is only a matter of knowing how to give vent to one's rage; whether one only wants to wander like madmen around prisons, or whether one wants to overturn them.
