Great quotations about crime and prisons embellish our history and our culture. Here are a few:
- The law is like a serpent. It bites the feet which have no shoes on. Bishop Oscar Romero, who was murdered in El Salvador in 1980.
- While there is a lower class I am in it, while there is a criminal element I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free. Eugene V[ictor] Debs 1855-1926
- The level of civilization in a society can be measured by entering its prisons. Alexis Charles Henri Maurice Clerel de Tocqueville.
- Poverty is the mother of crime Marcus Aurelius 121-180
- All crime is a kind of disease and should be treated as such. Mahatma Gandhi
- Distrust everyone in whom the impulse to punish is powerful. Friedrich Nietzsche 1844-1900
- A quote from Oscar Wilde 1854-1900
- The vilest deeds like poison weeds
- Bloom well in prison air:
- It is only what is good in man
- That wastes and withers there
- There should be no jails. They do not accomplish what they pretend to accomplish. If you would wipe them out there would be no more criminals than now. They are a blot upon any civilization. Clarence Darrow, 1857-1938
- I was in prison, and ye came unto me. The Gospel According to St. Matthew 25:36
Which is your favorite quote? Why?
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FYI, here is an excellent webpage about racism in criminal justice in the USA. http://blog.arrestrecords.com/infographic-racism-in-the-criminal-justice-system/ Problems exist in Canada as well with the percentage of first nation peoples in Canadian prisons. However, I’m not aware of a well-documented chart such as this one for the USA.
