Man punishes the action, but God the intention.

There is no crime without precedent. 

Two crimes undid me: a poem and a mistake. 

Punishment is a sort of medicine.

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

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.

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

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

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

The criminal is the creative artist; the detective only the critic.

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

To live outside the law you must be honest.