--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I cannot imagine any crime worse than…" description: "\"I cannot imagine any crime worse than taking a life, can you? -It'd depend whose life.\" — Brendan Behan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/brendan-behan-8832_capital-punishment_i-cannot-imagine-any-crime-worse-than-ta_1431911.png" --- # I cannot imagine any crime worse than taking a life, can… ![“I cannot imagine any crime worse than taking a life, can you? -It'd depend whose life.” quote by Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/brendan-behan-8832_capital-punishment_i-cannot-imagine-any-crime-worse-than-ta_1431911.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/brendan-behan-8832_capital-punishment_i-cannot-imagine-any-crime-worse-than-ta_1431911.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/brendan-behan-8832_capital-punishment_i-cannot-imagine-any-crime-worse-than-ta_1431911.png) > “I cannot imagine any crime worse than taking a life, can you? -It'd depend whose life.” [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Taking a life is the ultimate crime, yet moral judgments shift depending on whose life is at stake. **In simple terms:** Killing is the worst crime, but context matters. Key Takeaway Consider the value of every life. Themes ethics morality value of life Mood serious provocative Type philosophical debate When to use this quote - war - capital punishment - self‑defense Key Concepts philosophical relativism justice Questions to Reflect On - Whose life would you protect? - How do you weigh different lives? A Different Perspective Moral absolutes can be contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capital punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capital-punishment/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Crime Worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime-worse-322251/) [Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Imagine Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-crime-2476442/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Depend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-depend-1423031/) [Taking Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taking-life-760814/) [Worse Taking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worse-taking-2177455/) ## Related quotes > [What is worse? Taking the life of a person who wants to live or taking death from a person who wants to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-worse-taking-the-life-of-a-person-who-wants-to-live-or-taking/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Imagine a crime series in which, every week, there is a white suspect and a black suspect. And every week, lo and behold, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/imagine-a-crime-series-in-which-every-week-there-is-a-white-suspect/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The people who were trying to make this world worse are not taking the day off. Why should I?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/the-people-who-were-trying-to-make-this-world-worse-are-not-taking/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [“Getting cheated on is far worse than taking a beating. Just listen to all them records about it if you don't believe me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daren-dean/getting-cheated-on-is-far-worse-than-taking-a-beating-just-listen-to/) [Daren Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daren-dean/) > [“If your countrymen think that privacy is a crime, so much the worse for your country.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/if-your-countrymen-think-that-privacy-is-a-crime-so-much-the-worse/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [They don't call him 'No Drama Obama' for nothing. He's even worse than we thought because he has committed the ultimate American crime, worse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-king/they-don-t-call-him-no-drama-obama-for-nothing-he-s-even-worse-than/) [Florence King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-king/) > [“Then our crime's worse than a murderer's. His act puts him outside the law, but keeps the law intact. Ours would weaken the law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-van-tilburg-clark/then-our-crime-s-worse-than-a-murderer-s-his-act-puts-him-outside-the/) [Walter Van Tilburg Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-van-tilburg-clark/) > [Discrimination, hate crime and worse are widespread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-mordaunt/discrimination-hate-crime-and-worse-are-widespread/) [Penny Mordaunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-mordaunt/) > [Love of my life, you are my friend, love of my life, I can depend love of my life. Without you baby it feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-of-my-life-you-are-my-friend-love-of-my-life-i-can-depend-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is depend on you, how to handle it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aastha-lama/life-is-depend-on-you-how-to-handle-it/) [Aastha Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aastha-lama/) > [“No matter who you are, your progress and success in life will depend, more than any other factor, on how you invest the twenty-four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newberry-tommy/no-matter-who-you-are-your-progress-and-success-in-life-will-depend/) [Newberry, Tommy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newberry-tommy/) > [“Life is depend on luck And luck depends on you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heaven-ibrahim-khan/life-is-depend-on-luck-and-luck-depends-on-you/) [Heaven Ibrahim Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heaven-ibrahim-khan/) > [I really feel work is gorgeous. It's the only thing you can depend upon in life. You can't depend on love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-terwilliger/i-really-feel-work-is-gorgeous-it-s-the-only-thing-you-can-depend/) [Barbara Terwilliger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-terwilliger/) > [“I think you need someone in your life you can depend on, someone you can confide in when things go to hell at work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-clare/i-think-you-need-someone-in-your-life-you-can-depend-on-someone-you/) [Pamela Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-clare/) > [“Never let your life depend on the competence of someone whose life isn’t also on the line.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/never-let-your-life-depend-on-the-competence-of-someone-whose-life/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) ## More by Brendan Behan > [Many a man has decided to stay alive not because of the will to live but because of the determination not to give assorted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/many-a-man-has-decided-to-stay-alive-not-because-of-the-will-to-live/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [Pound notes are the best religion in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/pound-notes-are-the-best-religion-in-the-world/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [“It's a queer world, God knows, but the best we have to be going on with.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/it-s-a-queer-world-god-knows-but-the-best-we-have-to-be-going-on-with/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [There is no human situation so miserable that it cannot be made worse by the presence of a policeman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/there-is-no-human-situation-so-miserable-that-it-cannot-be-made-worse/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-have-a-total-irreverence-for-anything-connected-with-society-except/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [I ruined my health drinking to other people's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-ruined-my-health-drinking-to-other-people-s/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [“I respect kindness in human beings first of all, and kindness to animals. I don't respect the law; I have a total irreverence for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-respect-kindness-in-human-beings-first-of-all-and-kindness-to/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [Other people have a nationality. The Irish and the Jews have a psychosis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/other-people-have-a-nationality-the-irish-and-the-jews-have-a/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/there-is-no-such-thing-as-bad-publicity-except-your-own-obituary/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [There's no bad publicity except an obituary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/there-s-no-bad-publicity-except-an-obituary/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [The big difference between sex for money and sex for free is that sex for money usually costs a lot less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/the-big-difference-between-sex-for-money-and-sex-for-free-is-that-sex/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [I saw a notice which said, 'Drink Canada Dry' and I've just started.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-saw-a-notice-which-said-drink-canada-dry-and-i-ve-just-started/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [All publicity is good, except an obituary notice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/all-publicity-is-good-except-an-obituary-notice/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [Whatever you hold in contempt is your jailer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/whatever-you-hold-in-contempt-is-your-jailer/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [Message? What the hell do you think I am, a bloody postman?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/message-what-the-hell-do-you-think-i-am-a-bloody-postman/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) [Explore all 77 Brendan Behan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) ## More Capital punishment quotes > [“The next time believers tell you that 'separation of church and state' does not appear in our founding document, tell them to stop using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barker/the-next-time-believers-tell-you-that-separation-of-church-and-state/) [Dan Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barker/) > [“The very mention of crucifixion was taboo in polite Roman circles, since it was the lowest form of capital punishment, reserved for slaves and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-very-mention-of-crucifixion-was-taboo-in-polite-roman-circles/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/it-is-better-and-more-satisfactory-to-acquit-a-thousand-guilty/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [Let us leave the EEC, abolish human rights laws, take TV sets, pool tables and phones out of prisons, bring back corporal and capital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-bates/let-us-leave-the-eec-abolish-human-rights-laws-take-tv-sets-pool/) [Ken Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-bates/) > [ The law which attempts a man's life \[capital punishment\] is impractical, unjust, inadmissible. It has never repressed crime--for a second crime is every day… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/the-law-which-attempts-a-man-s-life-capital-punishment-is-impractical/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [Capital punishment kills immediately, whereas lifetime imprisonment does so slowly. Which executioner is more humane? The one who kills you in a few minutes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/capital-punishment-kills-immediately-whereas-lifetime-imprisonment/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/to-take-a-life-when-a-life-has-been-lost-is-revenge-not-justice/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Capital punishment...treats members of the human race...as objects to be toyed with and discarded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/capital-punishment-treats-members-of-the-human-race-as-objects-to-be/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [But now inquiry is being made concerning these issues. First, can any believer enlist in the military? Second, can any soldier, even those of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tertullian/but-now-inquiry-is-being-made-concerning-these-issues-first-can-any/) [Tertullian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tertullian/) > [Capital punishment would be more effective as a preventive measure if it were administered prior to the crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/capital-punishment-would-be-more-effective-as-a-preventive-measure-if/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [ “\[T\]here are some human rights that are so deep that we can't negotiate them away. I mean people do heinous, terrible things. But there… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sister-helen-prejean/t-here-are-some-human-rights-that-are-so-deep-that-we-can-t-negotiate/) [Sister Helen Prejean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sister-helen-prejean/) > [I favor capital punishment. It saves lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-reagan/i-favor-capital-punishment-it-saves-lives/) [Nancy Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-reagan/) > [It is significant that, as innocent babies are killed, and capital punishment is withheld from their murderers, the same men who plead for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-rushdoony/it-is-significant-that-as-innocent-babies-are-killed-and-capital/) [R.J. Rushdoony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-rushdoony/) > [I don't know if the question is whether you believe in capital punishment anymore. I think the greater question is its effectiveness and given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tani-cantil-sakauye/i-don-t-know-if-the-question-is-whether-you-believe-in-capital/) [Tani Cantil-Sakauye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tani-cantil-sakauye/) > [“Zwingli's introduction of capital punishment for those who differed from him on points of doctrine..." p179”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-h-broadbent-the-pilgrim-church/zwingli-s-introduction-of-capital-punishment-for-those-who-differed/) [E.H. Broadbent- The Pilgrim Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-h-broadbent-the-pilgrim-church/) [Browse all 209 Capital punishment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capital-punishment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I cannot imagine any crime worse than taking a life, can you? -It'd depend whose life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brendan Behan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-cannot-imagine-any-crime-worse-than-taking-a-life-can-you-it-d/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Capital punishment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-cannot-imagine-any-crime-worse-than-taking-a-life-can-you-it-d/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/brendan-behan-8832_capital-punishment_i-cannot-imagine-any-crime-worse-than-ta_1431911.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/brendan-behan-8832_capital-punishment_i-cannot-imagine-any-crime-worse-than-ta_1431911.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/brendan-behan-8832_capital-punishment_i-cannot-imagine-any-crime-worse-than-ta_1431911.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I cannot imagine any crime worse than taking a life, can you? -It'd depend whose life.” — Brendan Behan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Brendan Behan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I cannot imagine any crime worse...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-cannot-imagine-any-crime-worse-than-taking-a-life-can-you-it-d/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-cannot-imagine-any-crime-worse-than-taking-a-life-can-you-it-d/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```