Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images News / Getty Images
President Donald Trump said he's seeking to reinstate the death penalty for murder cases in Washington, D.C.
During a White House Cabinet meeting on Tuesday (August 26), Trump announced that his administration would pursue the death penalty for murder cases in D.C., calling capital punishment a "very strong preventative" measure to deter violent crime, per NBC News.
“If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, D.C., we’re going to be seeking the death penalty,” Trump said.
“We have no choice. So in D.C. … if somebody kills somebody … it’s the death penalty,” he added, noting that other states must decide their own policies on the matter.
Trump's announcement comes amid the administration's crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C., where thousands of armed National Guard troops have been deployed to patrol the streets.
Before taking office, Trump weighed expanding the death penalty nationwide, signing an executive order on inauguration day directing the attorney general to pursue capital punishment for “all crimes of a severity demanding its use.” The order also encouraged state and local prosecutors to adopt death penalty policies.
Currently, 27 states still allow the death penalty, while 23 have abolished it.
Trump is likely to face legal hurdles in reinstating capital punishment for murder cases in D.C. The death penalty was nullified in the district by the Supreme Court in 1972 and formally repealed by the D.C. Council in 1981. D.C. voters rejected reinstatement in a 1992 referendum.
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