The legal system will always trail behind the reality on the societal ground out there - that's almost by definition, and you actually kinda want them to be quite cautious and thorough before they make decisions.

But you also need to watch for outliers - laws that are WAY past their prime, and should have been put to pasture long ago.

Basically, the legal system needs a garbage collection mechanism.

I'm not sure why you're being downvoted. I agree that many penalties in the system are overly harsh. Even very minor offenses can ruin people's lives. I also agree that laws tend to lag behind society's views.