Pardon is the virtue of victory.
Pardon is the virtue of victory.
The idea that the sole aim of punishment
The idea that the sole aim of punishment is to prevent crime is obviously grounded upon the theory that crime can be prevented, which is almost as dubious as the notion that poverty can be prevented.
I am an expert of electricity. My father
I am an expert of electricity. My father occupied the chair of applied electricity at the state prison.
While we have prisons it matters little
While we have prisons it matters little which of us occupy the cells.
Every crime has, in the moment of its
Every crime has, in the moment of its perpetration, Its own avenging angel--dark misgiving, An ominous sinking at the inmost heart.
Reality becomes a prison to those who
Reality becomes a prison to those who can’t get out of it.
Those magistrates who can prevent crime,
Those magistrates who can prevent crime, and do not, in effect encourage it.
Society prepares the crime; the criminal
Society prepares the crime; the criminal commits it.
The power of punishment is to silence,
The power of punishment is to silence, not to confute.
Care should be taken that the punishment
Care should be taken that the punishment does not exceed the guilt; and also that some men do not suffer for offenses for which others are not even indicted.
Three hundred years ago a prisoner
Three hundred years ago a prisoner condemned to the Tower of London carved on the wall of his cell this sentiment to keep up his spirits during his long imprisonment: “It is not adversity that kills, but the impatience with which we bear adversity.”
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.
To trial bring her stolen charms, and
To trial bring her stolen charms, and let her prison be my arms.
I know how men in exile feed on dreams
I know how men in exile feed on dreams of hope.
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.
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.
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.
When you are younger you get blamed for
When you are younger you get blamed for crimes you never committed and when you're older you begin to get credit for virtues you never possessed. It evens itself out.
No written law has been more binding
No written law has been more binding than unwritten custom supported by popular opinion.
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.
Adversities such as being homeless and
Adversities such as being homeless and going to prison has made many people stronger.
The public have more interest in the
The public have more interest in the punishment of an injury than he who receives it.
Let us remember that justice must be
Let us remember that justice must be observed even to the lowest.
We shall fight against them, throw them
We shall fight against them, throw them in prisons and destroy them.
No obligation to justice does force a
No obligation to justice does force a man to be cruel, or to use the sharpest sentence.
