Quotes to Think About

"The death penalty is no more effective a deterrent than life imprisonment..It is also evident that the burden of capital punishment falls upon the poor, the ignorant and the underprivileged members of society" - Thurgood Marshall, United States Supreme Court Justice

"Forgiving violence does not mean condoning violence. There are only two alternatives to forgiving violence: revenge or adopting an attitude of never ending bitterness and anger. For too long we have treated violence with violence, and that's why it never ends." - Corretta Scott King

"An eye for an eye makes the world blind" - Mahatma Gandhi

"Make your way to death row and speak with the tragic victims of criminality. As they prepare to make their pathetic walk to the electric chair, their hopeless cry is that society will not forgive. Capital punishment is society's final assertion that it will not forgive" - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"The goverment tries to instill hatred, distrust and indifference in the public through the media. Very often, most people do not even think about the lonely and completely abandoned persons behind bars..we are sort of like; out of sight, out of mind. Truthfully, we are real people with hopes, fears and feelings. Yes, most of us have made grave mistakes and some are guilty..However, contrary to what the establishment would have the public believe, some of us are actually innocent! The bottom-line is, we all are human beings." - James Heard, death row inmate of San Quentin