And a District Attorney wants a law which shall punish with death attempts upon a President's life--this, mind you, as a deterrent. It would have no effect--or the opposite one. The lunatic's mind-space is all occupied--as mine was--with the matter in hand; there is no room in it for reflections upon what may happen to him. That comes after the crime.英文原著 · 《Letters Vol. 5》
Has the religious creed taught in your youth had any deterrent effect on the freedom of your researches?英文原著 · 《The Life and Letters-2》