"In every human society, there is an effort continually tending to confer on one part the height of power and happiness, and to reduce the other to the extreme of weakness and misery. The intent of good laws is to oppose this effort and to diffuse their influence universally and equally."
Cesare Beccaria was an Italian Enlightenment philosopher and jurist best known for On Crimes and Punishments (1764). His arguments against torture and arbitrary punishment influenced modern criminal law. He is widely regarded as a foundational thinker in criminology and penal reform.