One should respect public opinion
One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny.
A variety in punishment is of utility,
A variety in punishment is of utility, as well as a proportion.
Extreme justice is extreme injustice.
Extreme justice is extreme injustice.
Crimes lead one into another; they who
Crimes lead one into another; they who are capable of being forgers are capable of being incendiaries.
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.
Some laws of state aimed at curbing
Some laws of state aimed at curbing crime are even more criminal.
One of the many lessons that one learns
One of the many lessons that one learns in prison is, that things are what they are and will be what they will be.
It is the spirit and not the form of law
It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.
Crime is a logical extension of the sort
Crime is a logical extension of the sort of behavior that often [is] considered perfectly respectable in legitimate business.
Distrust all in whom the impulse to
Distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful.
In prison, you get the chance to see who
In prison, you get the chance to see who really loves you.
In my country we go to prison first and
In my country we go to prison first and then become President.
The degree of civilization in a society
The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.
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.
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.
The public have more interest in the
The public have more interest in the punishment of an injury than he who receives it.
No crime has been without a precedent.
No crime has been without a precedent.
He who opens a school door, closes a
He who opens a school door, closes a prison.
If you share the crime of your friend,
If you share the crime of your friend, you make it your own.
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.
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.
No written law has been more binding
No written law has been more binding than unwritten custom supported by popular opinion.
When is conduct a crime, and when is a
When is conduct a crime, and when is a crime not a crime? When Somebody Up There -- a monarch, a dictator, a Pope, a legislator -- so decrees.
By noiselessly going to a prison a
By noiselessly going to a prison a civil-resister ensures a calm atmosphere.
It becomes not a law-maker to be a
It becomes not a law-maker to be a law-breaker.
