Our crime against criminals is that we treat them as villains.

Punishment is a sort of medicine.

I’ve got some shit I’m conservative about and some shit I’m liberal about. Crime—I’m conservative. Prostitution—I’m liberal.

In its function, the power to punish is not essentially different from that of curing or educating.

To live outside the law you must be honest.  

There is no crime without precedent. 

The land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.

A crowded police court docket is the surest sign that trade is brisk and money plenty.

After all, crime is only a left-handed form of human endeavor.

Two crimes undid me: a poem and a mistake. 

I'm all for bringing back the birch, but only between consenting adults.

Man punishes the action, but God the intention.

No punishment has ever possessed enough power of deterrence to prevent the commission of crimes.