In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences

He was just telling the truth,” Parr said. “The truth can be brutal. To coin a phrase.”

‘Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.’

the M’Naghten Rule, the ancient British importation which contends that if the accused knew the nature of his act, and knew it was wrong, then he is mentally competent and responsible for his actions.

What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night.

There is considerable hypocrisy in conventionalism.

When it comes to murder, you can’t respect grief. Or privacy. Or personal feelings.

Just remember: If one bird carried every grain of sand, grain by grain, across the ocean, by the time he got them all on the other side, that would only be the beginning of eternity.

When your time comes, it comes. And tears won’t save you.

compulsively superstitious person is also very often a serious believer in fate

A few spectators glanced at her, and glanced away, embarrassed; the rest seemed oblivious of the raw dirge counter pointing Dewey’s continuing recitation; even her husband, perhaps because he believed it unmanly to take notice, remained aloof.