Trump plans to introduce the death penalty for murder in Washington

• Trump wants to introduce the death penalty for murder in Washington.
• The city government prohibits a high level of crime in the area.
• The death penalty in Washington was enacted in 1981.

The President of the USA, Donald Trump, announced his intention to introduce the death penalty for individuals convicted of murder in Washington, D.C. During a cabinet meeting at the White House, he stated that the death penalty would be "very powerful deterrent" against murder in the city.

Trump previously described the situation in Washington as "total lawlessness." In response to this, hundreds of National Guardsmen and federal law enforcement officers were deployed to the city. The Mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, criticized the President's statement about crime, indicating that the crime rate in the city is declining.

The President also expressed his intention to apply this policy in other cities, such as Chicago. However, local prosecutors may theoretically only pursue the death penalty for crimes that fall under federal laws, and also considering that most residents of Washington are against the death penalty.

Trump reinstated the use of the death penalty at the federal level through an executive order at the beginning of his presidency in January. During the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden, the Ministry reinstated a moratorium on the execution of death sentences.

The death penalty was enacted in Washington by the Supreme Court in 1972 and was reinstated by the city council in 1981. In 2002, residents of the city overwhelmingly voted against the death penalty in a referendum.

Trump also emphasized that most executions in the USA are carried out at the state level, and Washington does not have a legally active death penalty. The last execution at the federal level occurred during his administration, which made Trump the most productive executor of death sentences in over a century.

Tags: USA/Politics/Crime