The reformative effect of punishment is
The reformative effect of punishment is a belief that dies hard, chiefly I think, because it is so satisfying to our sadistic impulses.
Pardon is the virtue of victory.
Pardon is the virtue of victory.
Overlook our deeds, since you know that
Overlook our deeds, since you know that crime was absent from our inclination.
When it comes to freedom, we are but
When it comes to freedom, we are but prisoners of our own desires.
There are only two places in the world
There are only two places in the world where time takes precedence over the job to be done. School and prison.
Justice renders to every one his due.
Justice renders to every one his due.
Here the great art lies, to discern in
Here the great art lies, to discern in what the law is to be to restraint and punishment, and in what things persuasion only is to work.
It becomes not a law-maker to be a
It becomes not a law-maker to be a law-breaker.
He who does not prevent a crime when he
He who does not prevent a crime when he can, encourages it.
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.
In jail a man has no personality. He is
In jail a man has no personality. He is a minor disposal problem and a few entries on reports. Nobody cares who loves or hates him, what he looks like, what he did with his life. Nobody reacts to him unless he gives trouble. Nobody abuses him. All that is asked of him is that he go quietly to the right cell and remain quiet when he gets there. There is nothing to fight against, nothing to be mad at. The jailers are quiet men without animosity or sadism.
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.
Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X came out of
Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X came out of prison stronger.
Hanging was the worst use a man could be
Hanging was the worst use a man could be put to.
Probably the only place where a man can
Probably the only place where a man can feel really secure is in a maximum security prison, except for the imminent threat of release.
It is the spirit and not the form of law
It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.
The worst of prison life, he thought,
The worst of prison life, he thought, was not being able to close his door.
No written law has been more binding
No written law has been more binding than unwritten custom supported by popular opinion.
Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten
Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass, Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron, Can be retentive to the strength of spirit; But life, being weary of these worldly bars, Never lacks power to dismiss itself.
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 solution to our drug problem is not
The solution to our drug problem is not in incarceration.
Virtue pardons the wicked, as the
Virtue pardons the wicked, as the sandal-tree perfumes the axe which strikes 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.
We are prisoners of ideas.
We are prisoners of ideas.
While we have prisons it matters little
While we have prisons it matters little which of us occupy the cells.
