Liberty is rendered even more precious by the recollection of servitude.
No written law has been more binding than unwritten custom supported by popular opinion.
Laws do not persuade just because they threaten.
A pedestal is as much a prison as any small, confined space.
You utter a vow, or forge a signature, and you may find yourself bound for life to a monastery, a woman, or prison.
It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.
I never saw a man who looked With such a wistful eye Upon that little tent of blue Which prisoners call the sky.
Steal goods and you’ll go to prison, steal lands and you are a king.
It is hard, but it is excellent, to find the right knowledge of when correction is necessary and when grace doth most avail.
Concepts of justice must have hands and feet to carry out justice in every case in the shortest possible time and the lowest possible cost. That is the challenge to every lawyer and judge in America.
Prison makes you a better judge of character. You pick up on people much faster.
I asked a man in prison once how he happened to be there and he said he had stolen a pair of shoes. I told him if he had stolen a railroad he would be a United States Senator.
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!
In the halls of justice, the only justice is in the halls.
In a civilized society, all crimes are likely to be sins, but most sins are not and ought not to be treated as crimes.
To trial bring her stolen charms, and let her prison be my arms.
Corporal punishment falls far more heavily than most weighty pecuniary penalty.
What is crime amongst the multitude, is only vice among the few.
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.
To seek the redress of grievances by going to law, is like sheep running for shelter to a bramble bush.
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.
Mere factual innocence is no reason not to carry out a death sentence properly reached.
Crime succeeds by sudden despatch; honest counsels gain vigor by delay.
Adversities such as being homeless and going to prison has made many people stronger.
