Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X came out of
Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X came out of prison stronger.
I know not whether laws be right, or
I know not whether laws be right, or whether laws be wrong; All that we know who lie in gaol is that the wall is strong; And that each day is like a year, a year whose days are long.
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.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.
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.
Some laws of state aimed at curbing
Some laws of state aimed at curbing crime are even more criminal.
Clemency alone makes us equal to the
Clemency alone makes us equal to the gods.
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.
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.
We don't seem to be able to check crime,
We don't seem to be able to check crime, so why not legalize it and then tax it out of business.
It is the spirit and not the form of law
It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.
They took away my money, my family, and
They took away my money, my family, and my security. Why couldn't they destroy my ideas? We will question them in court tomorrow as we trigger The Revolution of all revolutions!
It isn't true that convicts live like
It isn't true that convicts live like animals: animals have more room to move around.
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.
The guilt of enforced crimes lies on
The guilt of enforced crimes lies on those who impose them.
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 not at the table, but in prison,
It is not at the table, but in prison, that you learn who your true friends are.
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.
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.
The punishment can be remitted; the
The punishment can be remitted; the crime is everlasting.
Shyness is the prison of the heart.
Shyness is the prison of the heart.
If it's near dinner-time, the foreman
If it's near dinner-time, the foreman takes out his watch when the jury has retired, and says: "Dear me, gentlemen, ten minutes to five, I declare! I dine at five, gentlemen." "So do I," says everybody else, except two men who ought to have dined at three and seem more than half disposed to stand out in consequence. The foreman smiles, and puts up his watch:--"Well, gentlemen, what do we say, plaintiff or defendant, gentlemen?
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.
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.
