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Introduction xxiii marginalized, and subject to severe disadvantages like mental illness, sub- stance abuse, and lack of citizenship. Once incarcerated, the vulnerable are punished a second time. This book seeks to highlight two important facts: first, that the vulnerable are disproportionately sent to prison, and second, while in prison, the vulnerable are disproportionately punished. Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky, himself a former prisoner in impe- rial Russia, is quoted as saying, “The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons” (Shapiro 2006). Jesus of Nazareth, perhaps the world’s most famous victim of capital punishment, was also deeply con- cerned about prisoners. The New International Version translation of Mat- thew 25:35–40 reads, For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” This book tries to rely more on empirical evidence than on moral plead- ings. Indeed, one principal argument of this book is that morality is socially constructed and varies geographically and temporally. Yet the “least of these” quote has stuck with me from a young age. I believe that the way a govern- ment treats its most vulnerable citizens is crucial to understanding a society. Concern about the conditions of prisons and of prisoners go back thousands of years and across multiple continents. How do we treat the “least of these”? How do we treat the vulnerable? This book is about that treatment. It tries to conceptualize prisoners as a vulner- able population in need of help rather than as dangerous predators or amoral villains. The vulnerable end up in prison because they are politically weak and are viewed negatively by society. The vulnerable are punished in prison because prisons are overcrowded and prison guards rely on stereotypes and heuristics when deciding who to punish. Our prison population exploded at a specific place and time and was caused by political, psychological, and cultural conditions. This book wrestles with some of the causes and effects of mass incarceration. Plan of the Book If incarceration isn’t a simple response to crime, why do we send certain people to prisons? I argue that crime is socially constructed and varies both geographically and temporarily. This can be clearly seen in the evolution of