We who live in prison, and in whose
We who live in prison, and in whose lives there is no event but sorrow, have to measure time by throbs of pain, and the record of bitter moments.
There is no greater punishment of
There is no greater punishment of wickedness that that it is dissatisfied with itself and its deeds.
I wrote a million words in the first
I wrote a million words in the first year, and I could never have done that outside of prison.
The object of punishment is prevention
The object of punishment is prevention from evil; it never can be made impulsive to good.
Well does Heaven have care that no man
Well does Heaven have care that no man secures happiness by crime.
The most anxious man in a prison is the
The most anxious man in a prison is the governor.
No written law has been more binding
No written law has been more binding than unwritten custom supported by popular opinion.
Reality becomes a prison to those who
Reality becomes a prison to those who can’t get out of it.
The power of punishment is to silence,
The power of punishment is to silence, not to confute.
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.
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.
Body is a home, a prison and a grave.
Body is a home, a prison and a grave.
The virtue of justice consists in
The virtue of justice consists in moderation, as regulated by wisdom.
In prisons, those things withheld from
In prisons, those things withheld from and denied to the prisoner become precisely what he wants most of all.
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.
No man should be judge in his own case.
No man should be judge in his own case.
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.
Crimes lead one into another; they who
Crimes lead one into another; they who are capable of being forgers are capable of being incendiaries.
Fear can be like a prison. It is,
Fear can be like a prison. It is, however, a self made prison. Many are imprisoned by fear. No one else can liberate them from this prison. Others may inspire them but they must liberate themselves.
There are few better measures of the
There are few better measures of the concern a society has for its individual members and its own well being than the way it handles criminals.
One of the problems that the marijuana
One of the problems that the marijuana reform movement consistently faces is that everyone wants to talk about what marijuana does, but no one ever wants to look at what marijuana prohibition does. Marijuana never kicks down your door in the middle of the night. Marijuana never locks up sick and dying people, does not suppress medical research, does not peek in bedroom windows. Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could.
On a planet that increasingly resembles
On a planet that increasingly resembles one huge Maximum Security prison, the only intelligent choice is to plan a jail break.
Do not lay on the multitude the blame
Do not lay on the multitude the blame that is due to a few.
A pedestal is as much a prison as any
A pedestal is as much a prison as any small, confined space.
There is no peace because the making of
There is no peace because the making of peace is at least as costly as the making of war - at least as exigent, at least as disruptive, at least as liable to bring disgrace and prison and death in its wake.