Trump Says He Wants To Seek The Death Penalty For Murder In Washington, D.c.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his management will activity nan reinstatement of nan decease punishment for execution cases successful nan nation's capital, a argumentation that he has wanted to grow nationwide.

"If personification kills personification successful nan capital, Washington, D.C., we're going to beryllium seeking nan decease penalty," Trump said during a lengthy Cabinet gathering astatine nan White House.

Trump suggested that specified a argumentation would perchance deter group from committing murder, saying that superior reward is simply a "very beardown preventative."

"We person nary choice. So successful D.C. ... if personification kills personification ... it's nan decease penalty," said Trump, who made clear that different states would person to make their individual decisions astir nan issue.

The president's remark comes amid his administration's fierce efforts successful caller weeks successful D.C. to trim crime successful nan city by controlling rule enforcement activities arsenic good arsenic deploying and arming National Guard troops to patrol nan streets.

Even earlier taking agency successful January, the president made clear that he wanted to grow nan decease punishment to much states. On nan time he was sworn in, Trump signed an executive order that expressed a desire to augment superior reward crossed nan country. It directed nan lawyer wide to prosecute nan decease punishment "for each crimes of a severity demanding its use" and to promote authorities attorneys wide and territory attorneys to adopt decease penalty-related policies.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, nan national charismatic successful D.C., announced this period that nan Department of Justice is considering seeking nan decease punishment successful nan lawsuit of Elias Rodriguez, who fatally changeable 2 Israeli embassy staffers successful May. That case, however, is simply a national lawsuit and Trump could look obstacles trying to enforce nan decease punishment successful different D.C. execution cases.

The U.S. attorney's agency and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's agency didn't instantly respond to requests for remark connected Trump's decease punishment remark.

Overall, crime successful nan metropolis has decreased by 8% complete nan past year, including a 15% diminution successful homicides, according to information collected by nan Metropolitan Police Department. Homicides person besides dropped from nan 20-year precocious successful 2023, which recorded 274 killings, to 102 truthful acold this year.

Trump and nan White House person questioned nan crime statistic released by nan city, and NBC News antecedently reported that nan Justice Department is investigating whether nan information was manipulated to make nan crime complaint look lower.

According to nonprofit nan Death Penalty Information Center, nan Supreme Court nullified nan decease punishment successful D.C. successful 1972 and nan D.C. Council formally repealed it successful 1981. D.C. residents later voted successful 1992 to not reinstate superior reward successful nan city. The statement says 27 states still usage nan decease punishment and 23 states don't person nan argumentation connected their books.

While much group person supported nan decease punishment for those who are convicted of execution successful caller years, according to Gallup, nan percent of group who backmost nan argumentation has dramatically decreased successful caller decades and nan percent against it has increased. The astir support nan decease punishment has received successful nan past 85 years was successful 1994, erstwhile Gallup recorded 80% arsenic supporting it successful execution cases, compared to 16% who didn't favour it.