“The punishment of death is the war of a nation against a citizen, whose destruction it judges necessary, or useful to the general good.”

— Cesare Beccaria

law state capital punishment
CB

About Cesare Beccaria

Philosopher • Italian

Cesare Beccaria was an Italian jurist, philosopher, and politician who is widely considered one of the greatest thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment. His most famous work, "On Crimes and Punishments" (1764), condemned...

Read full biography

Explore Related Quotes

“The murder that is depicted as a horrible crime is repeated in cold blood, remorselessly.”
 — Cesare Beccaria
Quotoria.com
“The fatal constitutional infirmity in the punishment of death is that it treats 'members of the human race as nonhumans, as objects to be toyed with and discarded.'”
 — William J. Brennan Jr.
Quotoria.com
“Capital punishment is the legalized murder of a human being by the state.”
 — Caryl Chessman
Quotoria.com