Show me the prison, Show me the jail,
Show me the prison, Show me the jail, Show me the prisoner whose life has gone stale. And I'll show you a young man with so many reasons why And there, but for fortune, go you or I.
The worst of prison life, he thought,
The worst of prison life, he thought, was not being able to close his door.
It was only when I lay there on the
It was only when I lay there on the rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good. Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not between states nor between social classes nor between political parties, but right through every human heart, through all human hearts. And that is why I turn back to the years of my imprisonment and say, sometimes to the astonishment of those about me, bless you, prison, for having been a part of my life.
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.
The world itself is but a large prison,
The world itself is but a large prison, out of which some are daily led to execution.
I have been studying how I may compare
I have been studying how I may compare this prison where I live unto the world; Shut up in the prison of their own consciences.
I just remember that disturbing feeling
I just remember that disturbing feeling of walking into that prison, the complete loss of privacy, the complete loss of stimulation, dignity.
The severest justice may not always be
The severest justice may not always be the best policy.
I don't like jail, they got the wrong
I don't like jail, they got the wrong kind of bars in there.
Man is born free, and everywhere he is
Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.
Money will determine whether the accused
Money will determine whether the accused goes to prison or walks out of the courtroom a free man.
To trial bring her stolen charms, and
To trial bring her stolen charms, and let her prison be my arms.
The refined punishments of the spiritual
The refined punishments of the spiritual mode are usually much more indecent and dangerous than a good smack.
I can tell you this on a stack of
I can tell you this on a stack of Bibles: prisons are archaic, brutal, unregenerative, overcrowded hell holes where the inmates are treated like animals with absolutely not one humane thought given to what they are going to do once they are released. You're an animal in a cage and you're treated like one.
Nothing can be more abhorrent to
Nothing can be more abhorrent to democracy than to imprison a person or keep him in prison because he is unpopular. This is really the test of civilization.
I have been studying how I may compare
I have been studying how I may compare This prison where I live unto the world; And, for because the world is populous, And here is not a creature but myself, I cannot do it. Yet I'll hammer it out.
Extreme justice is extreme injustice.
Extreme justice is extreme injustice.
If we look at Houston, which is a very
If we look at Houston, which is a very environmentally toxic place, we find that it has one of the highest levels of young men going to prison and also among the highest levels of illiteracy in the country.
I wrote a million words in the first
I wrote a million words in the first year, and I could never have done that outside of prison.
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.
Mere factual innocence is no reason not
Mere factual innocence is no reason not to carry out a death sentence properly reached.
The contagion of crime is like that of
The contagion of crime is like that of the plague. Criminals collected together corrupt each other; they are worse than ever when at the termination of their punishment they re-enter society.
It becomes not a law-maker to be a
It becomes not a law-maker to be a law-breaker.
No man should be judge in his own case.
No man should be judge in his own case.
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.
