Judges are increasingly giving relatively young violent offenders sentences of life or longer, because they lack knowledge of how to predict future behavior or stop people from killing or hurting other people. Each branch of government blames the other branches for the huge costs of the criminal justice system and the high rates of recidivism. However, judges do not know which sentences are effective. They lack knowledge of whether incarceration deters or merely punishes and delays further offending, of whether or when drug treatment is an effective alternative, and which drug treatment programs are effective. It is also difficult to obtain public support for funding evaluation research. To address these issues, the legislative, executive, and judicial branches should communicate continuously on all aspects of the criminal justice system, while respecting each other's independence and prerogatives.