Trump calls for death penalty for DC murder cases

27/8/2025 6:27

The U.S. government will start seeking the death penalty in Washington, D.C., homicide cases, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday.



"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," Trump said at a White House cabinet meeting. "I don't know if we're ready for it in this country, but we have it. It is - we have no choice."



The move would further expand the Republican's efforts to seek the mantle of law-and-order president and to exert power over the nation's capital, whose residents are largely Democrats.



Trump declared an emergency, deployed hundreds of National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officials in the nation's capital to supplement local police dealing with what he said was an unacceptable level of violent street crime.