Punishment is a fruit that, unsuspected, ripens with the flower of the pleasure that concealed it.

Punishment is a cruel and useless substitute for the elimination of those conditions-- poverty, unemployment, homelessness, desperation, racism, greed-- which are at the root of most punished crime. The crimes of the rich and powerful go mostly unpunished.
If a deaf person swears, does his mother wash his hands with soap?
Punishment is a strange doctrine: The essence of political power, though unstable power which always carries with it an excessive quality, the right to punish transgressors and the obligation never to harm another person.
The Ancient Romans would "transfer" ownership of stolen items to a deity, so as to make the god responsible for punishing the thief
I just sent both my kids to their roomsSo now I'm jealous of both of them

Punishment is a complex social function which must be examined not only through its negative aspects but also for its useful effect in the history of the human sciences.
In a study, Innocent university students were accused of cheating. Over half agreed to admit guilt in exchange for reduced punishments.
Punishment is a non-utilitarian, objectiveless institution that, despite itself, is functional in that it produces an automatic solidarity.
Punishment is a phenomenon that has progressed with the division of labor such that the overseer's book of penalties replaces the slave-drivers lash. Punishment resolves into economic punishment.
Punishment is about power and social control. The elite utilize punishment to its best effect in a tactical manner to control the population and maintain order and their own power.