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.
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.
To my mind, to kill in war is not a whit
To my mind, to kill in war is not a whit better than to commit ordinary murder.
America is the land of the second chance
America is the land of the second chance – and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.
Written laws are like spiders' webs, and
Written laws are like spiders' webs, and will, like them, only entangle and hold the poor and weak, while the rich and powerful will easily break through them.
We have initiated programs for re-entry
We have initiated programs for re-entry offenders, since some 500,000 to 600,000 offenders will come out of prison each year for the next three or four years. We want to have positive alternatives when they come back to the community.
There are few better measures of the
There are few better measures of the concern a society has for its individual members and its own well being than the way it handles criminals.
Clemency alone makes us equal to the
Clemency alone makes us equal to the gods.
Prison makes you a better judge of
Prison makes you a better judge of character. You pick up on people much faster.
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.
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.
Liberty is rendered even more precious
Liberty is rendered even more precious by the recollection of servitude.
It isn't true that convicts live like
It isn't true that convicts live like animals: animals have more room to move around.
I know how men in exile feed on dreams
I know how men in exile feed on dreams of hope.
No written law has been more binding
No written law has been more binding than unwritten custom supported by popular opinion.
Let us remember that justice must be
Let us remember that justice must be observed even to the lowest.
The thoughts of a prisoner - they're not
The thoughts of a prisoner - they're not free either. They keep returning to the same things.
The object of punishment is prevention
The object of punishment is prevention from evil; it never can be made impulsive to good.
History is full of people who went to
History is full of people who went to prison or were burned at the stake for proclaiming their ideas. Society has always defended itself.
It is the deed that teaches, not the
It is the deed that teaches, not the name we give it. Murder and capital punishment are not opposites that cancel one another, but similars that breed their own kind.
Do not lay on the multitude the blame
Do not lay on the multitude the blame that is due to a few.
The difference between tax avoidance and
The difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion is the thickness of a prison walls.
You utter a vow, or forge a signature,
You utter a vow, or forge a signature, and you may find yourself bound for life to a monastery, a woman, or prison.
Men are not prisoners of fate, but only
Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.
It is true you cannot eat freedom and
It is true you cannot eat freedom and you cannot power machinery with democracy. But then neither can political prisoners turn on the light in the cells of a dictatorship.
