---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The law is cruel."
description: "\"The law is cruel.\" — Jack Kevorkian"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/901/jack-kevorkian-7173_cruel_the-law-is-cruel-960636_960636.jpg"
---

#  The law is cruel.

![“The law is cruel.” quote by Jack Kevorkian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/901/jack-kevorkian-7173_cruel_the-law-is-cruel-960636_960636.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/901/jack-kevorkian-7173_cruel_the-law-is-cruel-960636_960636.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/901/jack-kevorkian-7173_cruel_the-law-is-cruel-960636_960636.jpg)

> “The law is cruel.”

[Jack Kevorkian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kevorkian/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The law can be harsh and unforgiving, often imposing severe penalties or restrictions.

**In simple terms:** Laws can be harsh.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and challenge unjust legal practices.

Themes

justice law ethics

Mood

somber critical

Type

ethical political

When to use this quote

- courtroom
- policy reform
- civil rights activism

Key Concepts

legal theory human rights

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we balance safety and compassion?
- What reforms could reduce legal harshness?

A Different Perspective

Laws are necessary for order, despite their cruelty.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/)

## Related quotes

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[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [how cruel, your veins are full of ice-water and mine are boiling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/how-cruel-your-veins-are-full-of-ice-water-and-mine-are-boiling/)

[Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/)

> [“You would think those who have endured unkindness would be kinder as a result, intent on sparing others the awful suffering they abhorred firsthand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/you-would-think-those-who-have-endured-unkindness-would-be-kinder-as/)

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> [Huamns, uregulated, are cruel and capricious; violet and selfish; miserable and quarrelsome. It is only after their instincts and basic emotions have been controlled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/huamns-uregulated-are-cruel-and-capricious-violet-and-selfish/)

[Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/)

> [I must be cruel only to be kind; Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-must-be-cruel-only-to-be-kind-thus-bad-begins-and-worse-remains/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“my power is as cruel a joke as it can get? That’s”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-d-anderson/my-power-is-as-cruel-a-joke-as-it-can-get-that-s/)

Katie D. Anderson

> [You must learn that to endure cruelty is to become cruel yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bleach/you-must-learn-that-to-endure-cruelty-is-to-become-cruel-yourself/)

[Bleach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bleach/)

> [“Even the cruel feel pain. And even the cruel can change. I hope this changes him. He could do so much, if only he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/even-the-cruel-feel-pain-and-even-the-cruel-can-change-i-hope-this/)

[Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/)

> [Pity is cruel. Pity destroys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/pity-is-cruel-pity-destroys/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“Don't be so cruel to me. Don't promise me anything. I've got everything that i need. I need love in a good way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tegan-quin/don-t-be-so-cruel-to-me-don-t-promise-me-anything-i-ve-got-everything/)

[Tegan Quin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tegan-quin/)

> [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/)

[Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/)

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Keith Thompson

## More by Jack Kevorkian

> [“In quixotically trying to conquer death doctors all too frequently do no good for their patients’ “ease” but at the same time they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kevorkian/in-quixotically-trying-to-conquer-death-doctors-all-too-frequently-do/)

[Jack Kevorkian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kevorkian/)

> [I'm trying to knock the medical profession into accepting its responsibilities, and those responsibilities include assisting their patients with death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kevorkian/i-m-trying-to-knock-the-medical-profession-into-accepting-its/)

[Jack Kevorkian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kevorkian/)

> [Dying is not a crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kevorkian/dying-is-not-a-crime/)

[Jack Kevorkian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kevorkian/)

> [Maybe I won't stay out of prison. Who knows?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kevorkian/maybe-i-won-t-stay-out-of-prison-who-knows/)

[Jack Kevorkian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kevorkian/)

> [I'm afraid of sudden death. I'd like to know I'm going to die. That's why death row wouldn't be so bad, although it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kevorkian/i-m-afraid-of-sudden-death-i-d-like-to-know-i-m-going-to-die-that-s/)

[Jack Kevorkian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kevorkian/)

> [I think the Supreme Court does have the authority, which is not used, to declare a blanket right for all people, all adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kevorkian/i-think-the-supreme-court-does-have-the-authority-which-is-not-used/)

[Jack Kevorkian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kevorkian/)

> [I don't enjoy good food. I don't enjoy flashy cars. I don't care if I live in a dump. I don't enjoy good clothes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kevorkian/i-don-t-enjoy-good-food-i-don-t-enjoy-flashy-cars-i-don-t-care-if-i/)

[Jack Kevorkian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kevorkian/)

> [Fear controls you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kevorkian/fear-controls-you/)

[Jack Kevorkian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kevorkian/)

> [The Jews were gassed. Armenians were killed in every conceivable way... So the Holocaust doesn't interest me, see? They've had a lot of publicity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kevorkian/the-jews-were-gassed-armenians-were-killed-in-every-conceivable-way/)

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[Explore all 94 Jack Kevorkian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kevorkian/)

## More Cruel quotes

> [“History has a cruel way of disappointing optimists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-thompson/history-has-a-cruel-way-of-disappointing-optimists/)

Keith Thompson

> [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/)

[Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/)

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[Tegan Quin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tegan-quin/)

> [Pity is cruel. Pity destroys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/pity-is-cruel-pity-destroys/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“Even the cruel feel pain. And even the cruel can change. I hope this changes him. He could do so much, if only he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/even-the-cruel-feel-pain-and-even-the-cruel-can-change-i-hope-this/)

[Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/)

> [You must learn that to endure cruelty is to become cruel yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bleach/you-must-learn-that-to-endure-cruelty-is-to-become-cruel-yourself/)

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> [“my power is as cruel a joke as it can get? That’s”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-d-anderson/my-power-is-as-cruel-a-joke-as-it-can-get-that-s/)

Katie D. Anderson

> [I must be cruel only to be kind; Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-must-be-cruel-only-to-be-kind-thus-bad-begins-and-worse-remains/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Huamns, uregulated, are cruel and capricious; violet and selfish; miserable and quarrelsome. It is only after their instincts and basic emotions have been controlled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/huamns-uregulated-are-cruel-and-capricious-violet-and-selfish/)

[Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/)

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[Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/)

> [how cruel, your veins are full of ice-water and mine are boiling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/how-cruel-your-veins-are-full-of-ice-water-and-mine-are-boiling/)

[Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/)

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[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

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[Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/)

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Browse all 1,069 Cruel quotes

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