Clarence Darrow in his "Speech Delivered to Prisoners in the Chicago County Jail," presents a compelling argument for society's complicity with the criminal. In essence, Darrow believes that when one man steals from another, the community is as guilty as the criminal, since no man who "already had a lot of money in his pocket" (82) would risk his life and liberty to rob or steal . from another. According to Darrow, the root of the problem lies in poverty and the hoarding of wealth by a handful of people who become rich by exploiting the poor through cheap labor or by appealing to their vices. It is interesting to note that during difficult times crime increases. In particular, periods of high inflation or unusually cold winters. This is the time when people cannot afford to pay high heating bills. Faced with the impossibility of choice and an adverse situation, criminals “literally break into prison” (82) because it is better than staying outside. Case in point: the homeless. I saw a homeless man in downtown Los Angeles, with a hospital sling on his arm, deliberately provoke a security guard into calling the police. After the police arrived, the homeless man calmed down and quietly entered the police car, greeting the security guard cordially. It was a cold rainy day. Clearly the homeless man found the Los Angeles County Jail preferable to the streets. Another example involves habitual criminals who are "institutionalized." This point was poignantly dramatized in the movie “Shawshank Redemption.” Morgan Freeman's character contemplated suicide after his release from prison because he had been institutionalized for so long that he no longer had the ability to deal with the outside world. That is, until his friend offers him a real "chance to live" (83)... middle of paper... he would not understand justice, as you will unless he considers all actions in the fullness of light ? Only then will you know that the upright and the fallen are none other than a man standing in the twilight between the night of his pygmy-self and the day of his god-self. And that the cornerstone of the temple is not higher than the lowest stone of its foundation" (46-47). The criminal is not the only one responsible for his crime. There is a lot of truth in the maxim «No man is an island. No man is alone. Every man is my brother. Every man is my friend."WORKS CITEDBland, Bobby "Blue" "Poverty" Epic Records, 1967Burr, John R. and Milton Goldinger, "Philosophy and Contemporary Issues (Prentice Hall) 1995.Gibran, Kahlil "The Prophet" (Alfred A . Knopf, Inc.) 1997. Pages 42-47.Hugo, Victor "Les Miserables" Miller, Alice "For Your Own Good" (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux) 1990.