President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the federal government will seek the death penalty for murders committed in Washington, D.C., marking the latest step in his administration’s nationwide crime crackdown.
Speaking during a Cabinet meeting, Trump emphasized that the policy is intended as a strong deterrent. “Anybody murders something in the capital, capital punishment. Capital, capital punishment,” he said. “If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, D.C., we’re going to be seeking the death penalty. And that’s a very strong preventative.”
The District of Columbia has not carried out an execution since 1957, after Robert Carter was convicted of killing an off-duty police officer. Although the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment with stricter sentencing guidelines in 1976, the D.C. City Council abolished the death penalty in 1981.
The announcement follows Trump’s signing of an executive order earlier this week directing the Attorney General to seek the death penalty in cases involving the murder of law enforcement officers or capital crimes committed by non-citizens illegally present in the U.S. The order also instructed the Secretary of Defense to organize National Guard units in each state to respond rapidly to civil unrest.
The city’s recent crime-free streak ended Tuesday with the killing of a 31-year-old man in Southeast D.C., according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Trump’s remarks come amid ongoing debates over federal involvement in local crime policy, with officials emphasizing the balance between deterrence and constitutional authority.
