system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5:Why are false accusations not more punishable by the law?

I always hear stories of people being accused for crimes that, could and often do, ruin the lives of the defendants whether they are innocent or not.  Why is it that when the defendant is found innocent without a doubt do we not punish the accuser to the highest extent of the law?  

The obvious argument is that we do not want to be putting innocent victims in jail if they are unable to prove their accusations. But, isn't putting innocent people in jail for crimes they never committed just as bad? Should we not have more consequences for false accusations to try and prevent people from making them?
gpt
Making "false allegations" are punishable now, through existing laws on stuff like perjury, abuse of process, malicious prosecution, etc.  

The issue is that false allegations, while a major deal when they truly do occur, are SOOOOO hard to prove that they're false.  People are allowed to press forward on claims that are long-shots, that's the way our system is set up - people get to sue or get to contact the police/prosecutors about a criminal matter, and the system sorts out what has merit and what doesn't.

Plus, think about how making it easier to punish people whose claims end up not winning will really hit certain populations hard and unfairly.  Domestic abuse victims, for one.  "No one will believe you" is already a powerful deterrent to reporting that the abuser hangs over his victim.  "No one will believe you AND you'll go to jail for making a false report and never see your kids again?"  Can you imagine?