US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (August 26) that the federal government would seek death in cases of murders in Washington, DC, a step aimed at introducing a hard crime image in the capital of the nation.
“If someone kills someone in the capital, Washington, DC, we will be looking for a death penalty and that is a very strong preventive,” Trump said during the White House’s cabinet meeting.
“I don’t know if we’re ready for this in this country, but we have it – we don’t have a choice. So in Washington, Washington – they will have to decide with the states – but if someone kills someone … is it death, okay?”
A unique Washington’s legal status
Washington, DC, does not currently have a death penalty. The DC City Council abolished this decades ago, and local laws prohibit the death penalty for local crimes. However, the federal law allows the death penalty for certain crimes and gives Trump’s legal way to implementing capital fees.
Washington is a federal district rather than a state established by the US Constitution, while Congress retains the final authority. The Law on the Domestic Rule of the Columbia district of 1973 allows residents to choose the mayors and members of the Council, but Congress can suppress local legislation.
The agenda of law and order
The announcement comes as part of the wider campaign of Trump’s law and order. He put the National Guard soldiers and the federal enforcement of law into Washington and quoted the “unacceptable level of violent street crime”.
City officials question these statements and point to statistics that show a decline in violent crime since the increase in 2023. Trump also indicated that other cities, including Chicago, have expanded similar efforts.
Federal prosecution and policy of death penalty
Trump’s Ministry of Justice has already moved to revive the federal executions. In February, the General Prosecutor of Pam Bondi raised a break on most of the federal executions by the era, and the administration said that last year it would seek death in high -ranking cases, including the Luigi Mangione case, the defendant of killing the Executive Director Brian Thompson last year.
The search for the death penalty in the murder of DC could significantly increase the number of defendants in the federal series of death.
(Tagstotranslate) Donald Trump
