Most people fancy themselves innocent of
To make punishments efficacious, two
To make punishments efficacious, two things are necessary. They must never be disproportioned to the offence, and they must be certain.
The number of laws is constantly growing
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.
A man will be imprisoned in a room with
A man will be imprisoned in a room with a door that's unlocked and opens inwards, as long as it does not occur to him to pull rather than push.
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.
Crimes generally punish themselves.
Crimes generally punish themselves.
It is not at the table, but in prison,
It is not at the table, but in prison, that you learn who your true friends are.
The object of punishment is prevention
The object of punishment is prevention from evil; it never can be made impulsive to good.
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law.
One crime has to be concealed by
One crime has to be concealed by another.
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.
It is certain that the study of human
It is certain that the study of human psychology, if it were undertaken exclusively in prisons, would also lead to misrepresentation and absurd generalizations.
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.
It is safer that a bad man should not be
It is safer that a bad man should not be accused, than that he should be acquitted.
I submit that an individual who breaks a
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.
It becomes not a law-maker to be a
It becomes not a law-maker to be a law-breaker.
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.
Society prepares the crime; the criminal
Society prepares the crime; the criminal commits it.
Once we are destined to live out our
Once we are destined to live out our lives in the prison of our mind, our duty is to furnish it well.
Civilization is maintained by a very few
Civilization is maintained by a very few people in a small number of places and we need only some bombs and a few prisons to blot it out altogether.
Every instance of a man's suffering the
Every instance of a man's suffering the penalty of the law is an instance of the failure of that penalty in effecting its purpose, which is to deter.
A pedestal is as much a prison as any
A pedestal is as much a prison as any small, confined space.
Prison continues, on those who are
Prison continues, on those who are entrusted to it, a work begun elsewhere, which the whole of society pursues on each individual through innumerable mechanisms of discipline.
A sick person is a prisoner.
A sick person is a prisoner.
Prison makes you a better judge of
Prison makes you a better judge of character. You pick up on people much faster.
