A distinction is drawn between equity‐based penalties, whose primary purpose is to restore fairness, and deterrent‐based penalties, whose primary purpose is to prevent deviance. Sports are offered as an example in which deviance is successfully encapsulated by the use of equity‐based penalties. Current criminal law is seen as deterrent‐based rather than equity‐based. Advantages of an equity‐based system of justice for criminals, for victims, and for society are outlined. An equity‐based system could reconcile the generally incompatible goals of deterrence and rehabilitation. While it might require an imaginative reformation of our criminal justice system, the viability of equity‐based justice has already been demonstrated through its use in familial, primitive, and ci