President Trump said on Tuesday that his administration would seek the death penalty for all murder cases in Washington, D.C., the latest escalation of his show of force in the nation’s capital that he has described as an effort to combat crime. See full New York Times article.
"If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, DC, we're going to be seeking the death penalty," Trump told reporters and cabinet members. "And that's a very strong preventative."
In cases involving Washington’s local murder statute, there is currently no death penalty. The Supreme Court decision nullified the death penalty in Washington, D.C., in 1972. The last inmate to be put to death in Washington was executed by electric chair in 1957. Residents overwhelmingly rejected the use of the death penalty in a 1992 referendum placed on local ballots by the Republican-controlled US Congress.
As president, Mr. Trump has sought to turn his personal support of the death penalty into national policy. After resuming use of the death penalty in 2020, the Trump administration rushed to execute 13 people on death row in the final days before President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who opposed the death penalty, took office. The Trump administration executed more death row inmates than all 50 states combined. The last execution came just five days before he left office in January 2021.