How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
It was an irony that vexed us to no end. In jail and in prison, when a confidential informant makes a statement against an inmate, it's enough to find him or her guilty of any charge. But when we have witnesses who are capable of exonerating us, their testimony is no good.(1.13)
Kind of ironic that the system which tries to administer justice runs by rules that seem unfair.
Quote #2
The county jail's pecking order was as clear as it was unforgiving. From the lowest of the inmates to the highest reaches of the prison staff, life in jail was a real-life human experiment in the survival of the fittest. (4.24)
Is a survival-of-the-fittest system just the consequence you face if you break the law? Or could the system be made fairer and safer while still restraining crime?
Quote #3
This was one of the 'hood's many contradictions. Affluent white men were free to come into our community to buy drugs and sex as they pleased. If they got pulled over for soliciting, more often than not they were given a slap on the wrist and returned to the safety of the suburbs. But for us, the parks we had once played in as children were no longer safe, and the streets that had once been a source of pride were now forgotten cesspools that the city would rather forget. (9.4)
This quote underlines how complex it is to work toward a just society. The problems in a particular community may relate to outside factors as well as to internal challenges.