It is more dangerous that even a guilty
It is more dangerous that even a guilty person should be punished without the forms of law than that he should escape.
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.
Pardon is the virtue of victory.
Pardon is the virtue of victory.
Since 1957, black people have
Since 1957, black people have experienced double-digit unemployment - in good times and bad times. Look at the population of African Americans in prison. They represent more than half the population of prisoners in the country, 55 percent of those on death row.
Hard cases, it is said, make bad law.
Hard cases, it is said, make bad law.
I never saw a man who looked With such a
I never saw a man who looked With such a wistful eye Upon that little tent of blue Which prisoners call the sky.
We don't seem to be able to check crime,
We don't seem to be able to check crime, so why not legalize it and then tax it out of business.
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law.
Distrust all in whom the impulse to
Distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful.
Women now have choices. They can be
Women now have choices. They can be married, not married, have a job, not have a job, be married with children, unmarried with children. Men have the same choice we've always had: work, or prison.
Extreme justice is extreme injustice.
Extreme justice is extreme injustice.
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.
Crimes generally punish themselves.
Crimes generally punish themselves.
I am certain that nothing has done so
I am certain that nothing has done so much to destroy the juridical safeguards of individual freedom as the striving after this mirage of social justice.
It is the spirit and not the form of law
It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.
What is crime amongst the multitude, is
What is crime amongst the multitude, is only vice among the few.
Wherever any one is against his will,
Wherever any one is against his will, that is to him a prison.
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.
Those magistrates who can prevent crime,
Those magistrates who can prevent crime, and do not, in effect encourage it.
In a civilized society, all crimes are
In a civilized society, all crimes are likely to be sins, but most sins are not and ought not to be treated as crimes.
The difference between tax avoidance and
The difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion is the thickness of a prison walls.
Punishment, that is the justice for the
Punishment, that is the justice for the unjust.
We shall not yield to violence. We shall
We shall not yield to violence. We shall not be deprived of union freedoms. We shall never agree with sending people to prison for their convictions.
The only real prison is fear, and the
The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.
When I was in prison, I was wrapped up
When I was in prison, I was wrapped up in all those deep books. That Tolstoy crap - people shouldn't read that stuff.
