I&#x27;m beginning to think we should entirely abolish the punishment motivation in the criminal justice system.<p>It negatively affects recidivism rates, creates a huge societal cost, and really serves no purpose other than vengeance for the victim.<p>There are many excellent aspects of United States (and other British common law descendants) law, but they were created without the psychological understanding we now have of the factors that lead to crime. The current tripartite understanding of the reasons for prison sentences (punishment, deterrence, and removal from society) is simply not an accurate reflection of the reality of how to reduce criminal activity.<p>Sure, there are some people that we need to just remove from society. However, these individuals who have truly incurably pathological tendencies toward illegal actions are relatively rare.<p>The true purpose of the prison system needs to be reform. We need an evidence-based approach to crime prevention, not one based on human instinct, or the haphazard trial and error algorithm that developed our current legal system. Criminals need to be treated for mental illness, withdrawn from substance abuse, and most importantly given the socioeconomic tools they need to cope as law abiding citizens. Anything else is a waste of resources.