Donald Trump
By Olamilekan Tosin
President Donald Trump announced that his administration will seek the death penalty for all murder cases in Washington, D.C., despite the city not having capital punishment for over 40 years. Trump framed capital punishment as a “very strong preventative” measure, stating, “If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, D.C., we’re going to be seeking the death penalty”. This move is part of his broader effort to crack down on crime and exert more federal control over the nation’s capital.
The death penalty was abolished in Washington, D.C. in 1981, and residents overwhelmingly rejected restoring it in a 1992 referendum. However, the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. can bring federal charges that carry the possibility of death in certain cases. Trump’s administration will likely face legal hurdles, as juries in D.C. have historically been reluctant to impose death sentences.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has disputed Trump’s claims of rampant crime, citing a decline in homicides and overall crime rates in the city. According to official statistics, homicides are down 15% compared to the same point last year, with 102 recorded so far in 2025. Overall crime in D.C. is down 8% over the past year, including a decline in violent crime.
Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. attorney general to pursue the death penalty for crimes warranting its use. The announcement has sparked controversy, with many questioning the effectiveness and morality of the death penalty. The Catholic Church opposes the death penalty, considering it “inadmissible” in the modern world, as stated in Pope Francis’ 2020 encyclical “Fratelli Tutti.
