resolved: that the death penalty is a good thing

I Affirm the resolution, resolved: that the death penalty is a good thing thing.

Elie Wiesel once said, ""I do not believe any civilized society should be at the service of death. I don't think it's human to become an agent of the Angel of Death."

There are multiple factors to be accounted for when deciding whether or not the death penalty is a good thing. I negate the resolution "the death penalty is a good thing" and therefore believe that it is not beneficial and ultimately should not be practiced. I will introduce my reasoning below.

First and foremost, lethal injection is much more expensive than life in prison. Executions cost about 2 million dollars per person whereas life in prison is about 500,000 dollars. Neither one is particularly preferable in terms of cost. However, executions are about four times more expensive than life in prison.
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org...

Second, death sentences are handed down arbitrarily, not in a fair manner. Serial killers such as the infamous Gary Ridgway in Seattle who admitted killing 48 prostitutes and runaways got life in prison. An "angel of death" nurse in NJ who admitted killing 17 people got life. Meanwhile, mentally ill and impoverished murderers who could not afford good lawyers and did not warrant much media attention were given the death penalty. In Alabama, David Hocker was executed after a one-day trial. His mental illness was not sufficiently described to the jury. Alabama also executed a 74-year-old man (James Hubbard) who had been on DR for 27 years and was beset by medical problems which would have probably soon caused his death by natural means: cancer, high blood pressure and the early stages of Alzheimers. In Texas, a man with schizophrenia was executed (Kelsey Patterson) even after the Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended clemency after learning of his time spent in mental hospitals and his unintelligible rambling.
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org...

Third, the death penalty is not a deterrent of crime contrary to what many people believe, in fact crime rates have risen. In fact, the murder rate in the US is 6 times that of Britain and 5 times that of Australia. Neither country has the death penalty. Texas has twice the murder rate of Wisconsin, a state that doesn't have the death penalty. Texas and Oklahoma have historically executed the most number of death row inmates, yet in 2003 their state murder rates increased, and both have murder rates higher than the national average.

With the proof from the aforementioned reasons, the death penalty is not a good thing.

Seeing as there is no point in critiquing a non - existant argument.

Extend con arguments, as there was no refutation, please vote con.