Life without parole is worse than the death penalty.

Pro has failed to refute my rebuttals and has failed to provide the burden of proof which is customary that pro have the burden of proof. Pro's rebuttal; "That it is a quote rather than your own opinion doesn't make it any more true than yours or than mine. It is still just Conrad's opinion, and you cite no sources that he gives, nor does the quote give any indication that he has any. Even if this quote was completely objective and keenly posited, it would only show that capital punishment is bad (in that it is a little overblown and vengeful), not that life without parole is any better." My opponent has committed the straw man fallacy as he does not give evidence supporting his rebuttal. Instead he simply overlooks Conrad's former position, and has played a sourcing game claiming that Conrad is simply stating his own opinion that is not substantiated by sources. Conrad establishes his credibility as the former Chief of the Center for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation at the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, which would mean that he would have access to many sources to conduct his research. Life without parole, when the death penalty is another option, is often overly hastily applied because the assumption lingers that it is less serious. This has resulted in LWOP (as I will henceforth refer to it) being applied when, had LWOP not been an option, the accused would not have been likely to be sentenced to death, if they had even been eligible (2), and would have received some sentence with parole. My opponent's other rebuttal, "LWOP routinely puts inmates through "loss of friends, self-esteem and personal identity, social role, professional identity, autonomy, and personal possessions" (2), in University of Kentucky researcher Glenn Abraham's words. While it is likely that inmates sentenced to death experience these same woes while they wait, they do not have to wait as long, plus they always have the hope of leaving. LWOP sentencees, in contrast, lose their dignity when sentenced, as the state demonstrates with each conviction that it does not care enough either to carry out what it feels to its conclusion or to give the accused any chance of leaving. Your second quote seems more reasonable, but it also fails to address the possibility that LWOP is more damaging to prisoners than the death penalty is. Also, it is uncommon for the cases of LWOP sentencees to ever be challenged, especially later on than they would have been executed if they'd gotten death. Compensation does little to compensate, as the time is lost forever and prison has still done its work." Is not a valid rebuttal since he simply shifts from the risk executing the wrong person for mental issues. However, My opponent does not take into account the gradual prison reform that is being done in the US. Currently in California, there is an honor program to rehabilitate criminals. This is speculation, but it is likely that LWOP may cease to exist in the future as the United States Criminal Justice system turns to a rehabilitation based justice system. http://www.good.is... http://www.prisonhonorprogram.org... http://bjc.oxfordjournals.org... Thus I urge a con vote.