While we have prisons it matters little
While we have prisons it matters little which of us occupy the cells.
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.
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.
If punishment reaches not the mind and
If punishment reaches not the mind and makes not the will supple, it hardens the offender.
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.
Whatever is worthy to be loved for
Whatever is worthy to be loved for anything is worthy of preservation. A wise and dispassionate legislator, if any such should ever arise among men, will not condemn to death him who has done or is likely to do more service than injury to society. Blocks and gibbets are the nearest objects with legislators, and their business is never with hopes or with virtues.
The worst prison is not of stone. It is
The worst prison is not of stone. It is of a throbbing heart, outraged by an infamous life.
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.
So justice while she winks at crimes,
So justice while she winks at crimes, Stumbles on innocence sometimes.
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law.
The power of punishment is to silence,
The power of punishment is to silence, not to confute.
If you share the crime of your friend,
If you share the crime of your friend, you make it your own.
The object of punishment is prevention
The object of punishment is prevention from evil; it never can be made impulsive to good.
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.
A sick person is a prisoner.
A sick person is a prisoner.
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.
We shall fight against them, throw them
We shall fight against them, throw them in prisons and destroy them.
There is a point at which even justice
There is a point at which even justice does injury.
They were being driven to a prison,
They were being driven to a prison, through no fault of their own, in all probability for life. In comparison, how much easier it would be to walk to the gallows than to this tomb of living horrors!
A pedestal is as much a prison as any
A pedestal is as much a prison as any small, confined space.
Overlook our deeds, since you know that
Overlook our deeds, since you know that crime was absent from our inclination.
Justice is justice though it's always
Justice is justice though it's always delayed and finally done only by mistake.
While crime is punished it yet
While crime is punished it yet increases.
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.
Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X came out of
Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X came out of prison stronger.
