By noiselessly going to a prison a
By noiselessly going to a prison a civil-resister ensures a calm atmosphere.
The degree of civilization in a society
The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.
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.
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.
Kill a man, and you are an assassin.
Kill a man, and you are an assassin. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill everyone, and you are a God.
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.
What restrains us from killing is partly
What restrains us from killing is partly fear of punishment, partly moral scruple, and partly what may be described as a sense of humor.
A variety in punishment is of utility,
A variety in punishment is of utility, as well as a proportion.
If you want total security, go to
If you want total security, go to prison. There you’re fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking…is freedom.
Well, I don't think prisons are the
Well, I don't think prisons are the answer to everything, obviously.
The guilt of enforced crimes lies on
The guilt of enforced crimes lies on those who impose them.
It is impossible to go through life
It is impossible to go through life without trust: That is to be imprisoned in the worst cell of all, oneself.
He who opens a school door, closes a
He who opens a school door, closes a prison.
Society has used the juvenile courts to
Society has used the juvenile courts to create a caste system where there are throw-away people.
We judge ourselves by what we feel
We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.
Overlook our deeds, since you know that
Overlook our deeds, since you know that crime was absent from our inclination.
He who does not prevent a crime when he
He who does not prevent a crime when he can, encourages it.
The virtue of justice consists in
The virtue of justice consists in moderation, as regulated by wisdom.
When you are younger you get blamed for
When you are younger you get blamed for crimes you never committed and when you're older you begin to get credit for virtues you never possessed. It evens itself out.
I can work for the Lord in or out of
I can work for the Lord in or out of prison.
On average, drug prisoners spend more
On average, drug prisoners spend more time in federal prison than rapists, who often get out on early release because of the overcrowding in prison caused by the Drug War.
The uneven impact of actual enforcement
The uneven impact of actual enforcement measures tends to mirror and reinforce more general patterns of discrimination (along socioeconomic, racial and ethnic, sexual, and perhaps generational lines) within the society. As a consequence, such enforcement (ineffective as it may be in producing conformity) almost certainly reinforces feelings of alienation already prevalent within major segments of the population.
Assassination is the extreme form of
Assassination is the extreme form of censorship.
There is a point at which even justice
There is a point at which even justice does injury.
Prosecution I have managed to avoid; but
Prosecution I have managed to avoid; but I have been arrested, charged in a police court, have refused to be bound over, and thereupon have been unconditionally released - to my great regret; for I have always wanted to know what going to prison was like.
