Some laws of state aimed at curbing
Some laws of state aimed at curbing crime are even more criminal.
Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten
Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass, Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron, Can be retentive to the strength of spirit; But life, being weary of these worldly bars, Never lacks power to dismiss itself.
The world itself is but a large prison,
The world itself is but a large prison, out of which some are daily led to execution.
What is crime amongst the multitude, is
What is crime amongst the multitude, is only vice among the few.
No crime has been without a precedent.
No crime has been without a precedent.
If we look at Houston, which is a very
If we look at Houston, which is a very environmentally toxic place, we find that it has one of the highest levels of young men going to prison and also among the highest levels of illiteracy in the country.
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.
He who profits by a crime commits it.
He who profits by a crime commits it.
It becomes not a law-maker to be a
It becomes not a law-maker to be a law-breaker.
Written laws are like spiders' webs, and
Written laws are like spiders' webs, and will, like them, only entangle and hold the poor and weak, while the rich and powerful will easily break through them.
The degree of civilization in a society
The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.
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.
I was put into jail as I was going to
I was put into jail as I was going to the shoemaker's to get a shoe which was mended. When I was let out the next morning, I proceeded to finish my errand, and, having put on my mended shoe, joined a huckleberry party, who were impatient to put themselves under my conduct; and in half an hour -- for the horse was soon tackled -- was in the midst of a huckleberry field, on one of our highest hills, two miles off, and then the State was nowhere to be seen.
He who does not prevent a crime when he
He who does not prevent a crime when he can, encourages it.
Laws do not persuade just because they
Laws do not persuade just because they threaten.
Overlook our deeds, since you know that
Overlook our deeds, since you know that crime was absent from our inclination.
Wicked deeds are generally done, even
Wicked deeds are generally done, even with impunity, for the mere desire of occupation.
There is a point at which even justice
There is a point at which even justice does injury.
The only difference between me and my
The only difference between me and my fellow actors is that I've spent more time in jail.
There is no greater punishment of
There is no greater punishment of wickedness that that it is dissatisfied with itself and its deeds.
I existed in a world that never is - the
I existed in a world that never is - the prison of the mind.
The idea that the sole aim of punishment
The idea that the sole aim of punishment is to prevent crime is obviously grounded upon the theory that crime can be prevented, which is almost as dubious as the notion that poverty can be prevented.
It was only when I lay there on the
It was only when I lay there on the rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good. Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not between states nor between social classes nor between political parties, but right through every human heart, through all human hearts. And that is why I turn back to the years of my imprisonment and say, sometimes to the astonishment of those about me, bless you, prison, for having been a part of my life.
We have our own system, ... and
We have our own system, ... and journalists in our system are not put in prison for embarrassing the government by revealing things the government might not wish to have revealed. The important thing is that our system, under which journalists can write without fear or favor, should continue.
The world is a prison in which solitary
The world is a prison in which solitary confinement is preferable.
