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.
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.
Those magistrates who can prevent crime,
Those magistrates who can prevent crime, and do not, in effect encourage it.
Most people fancy themselves innocent of
Hanging was the worst use a man could be
Hanging was the worst use a man could be put to.
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.
Justice is justice though it's always
Justice is justice though it's always delayed and finally done only by mistake.
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.
Society has used the juvenile courts to
Society has used the juvenile courts to create a caste system where there are throw-away people.
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.
The world is a prison in which solitary
The world is a prison in which solitary confinement is preferable.
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.
Prisons don't rehabilitate, they don't
Prisons don't rehabilitate, they don't punish, they don't protect, so what the hell do they do?
Distrust all in whom the impulse to
Distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful.
No written law has been more binding
No written law has been more binding than unwritten custom supported by popular opinion.
If we were brought to trial for the
If we were brought to trial for the crimes we have committed against ourselves, few would escape the gallows.
The only effect of public punishment is
The only effect of public punishment is to show the rabble how bravely it can be borne; and that every one who hath lost a toe-nail hath suffered worse.
Wherever any one is against his will,
Wherever any one is against his will, that is to him a prison.
Clemency alone makes us equal to the
Clemency alone makes us equal to the gods.
Educate your children to self-control,
Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future lives and crimes to society.
I was in prison, and you came unto me.
I was in prison, and you came unto me. Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
~(Jesus Christ) Matthew 25:36, 40
Corporal punishment falls far more
Corporal punishment falls far more heavily than most weighty pecuniary penalty.
The English laws punish vice; the
The English laws punish vice; the Chinese laws do more, they reward virtue.
It is the spirit and not the form of law
It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.
Fast closed with double grills
Fast closed with double grills
And triple gates – the cell
To wicked souls is hell;
But to a mind that's innocent
'Tis only iron, wood and stone.