If you're willing to give convicts time served and let them walk, why do you want to give them a criminal record? I mean, either they should be in ja…

- Peter Moskos

I don't think we can reduce the prison population now, so many of these people are damaged goods once they've spent much time in prison. It would hav…

- Peter Moskos

There's no straight line between closing the mental institutions and filling the prisons but there is some sort of relationship. And it's hard to tel…

- Peter Moskos

Although I consider myself pretty liberal, I'm not against punishment. There's nothing wrong with punishing someone who has done something wrong. Or …

- Peter Moskos

When I talk to people the usual progression is, "Flogging's cruel and barbaric," moving very quickly to, "Only 10 lashes for five years?" Then I do w…

- Peter Moskos

I'm not a fan of the death penalty. At some level I think killing is wrong, but I don't have sympathy for most of the people sentenced - I'm not a pa…

- Peter Moskos

I know this in a way from my police background: the second you mention, "The system's racist," one-third of the country simply puts down the book and…

- Peter Moskos

I am very cynical. That is absolutely what police is doing. But you don't even have to be cynical. I mean, politicians don't even pretend they're doi…

- Peter Moskos

I think there is a lot of crime caused by desperation, and it doesn't mean that people commit crime because they're poor, but certainly a lot of peop…

- Peter Moskos