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President Donald Trump wants to bring the death penalty back to Washington for those convicted of murder amid his crime crackdown in the District — even though capital punishment has been outlawed there for decades.
While Washington, D.C.’s Superior Court that handles local trial matters is barred from utilizing the death penalty, and any changes at that level likely would require intervention from the D.C. City Council or Congress, the death penalty is legal at the federal level.
As a result, Trump would seek to capitalize on capital punishment in Washington for those convicted of federal crimes, according to Matthew Cavedon, the director of the Cato Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice.
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“What would happen is, on major crimes, the U.S. Department of Justice would be prosecuting those cases through the United States Attorney’s Office,” Cavedon said. “And that’s the new U.S. attorney, Jeane Pirro. Those cases would be brought in U.S. District Court… rather than D.C. Superior Court and D.C.’s internal court system.”
Trump laid out his plans to revive the death penalty in Washington during an August Cabinet meeting while discussing efforts to drive down crime in the nation’s capital. Trump has dispatched hundreds of D.C. National Guard troops to combat crime in Washington — resulting in more than 1,600 arrests since Aug. 11.
“If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, D.C., we’re going to be seeking the death penalty,” Trump told reporters during an August Cabinet meeting. “And that’s a very strong preventative. And everybody that’s heard it agrees with it. I don’t know if we’re ready for it in this country, but we have it.… We have no choice.”
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The White House referred Fox News Digital back to Trump’s comments at the Cabinet meeting.
Trump has long voiced support for the death penalty, and issued an executive order in January titled “Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety.” The order calls for the attorney general to “pursue the death penalty for all crimes of a severity demanding its use.”
“Capital punishment is an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit the most heinous crimes and acts of lethal violence against American citizens,” the order said. “Before, during, and after the founding of the United States, our cities, States, and country have continuously relied upon capital punishment as the ultimate deterrent and only proper punishment for the vilest crimes.”
That executive order, coupled with Trump’s statements on the matter, show he will request federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in D.C. murder cases, Cavedon said.
The D.C. Council officially rescinded the death penalty in 1981, and voters in the nation’s capital rejected the death penalty in a 1992 referendum, according to the nonprofit organization the Death Penalty Information Center. There hasn’t been an execution in Washington since 1957.
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Twenty-seven states still permit the death penalty, while 23 states do not have capital punishment. Four states — California, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Oregon — have a hold on executions, per orders from their respective governors.
Trump’s push to revitalize the death penalty could push those states to eradicate it at the state level, Cavedon said.
“Something like the president calling for lots and lots of executions might be enough to tip things over and get places like California to just do away with the death penalty on the state side,” Cavedon said.
Meanwhile, Trump’s effort is unnecessary since crime is on the decline in Washington and studies consistently show that the murder rate is lower in states without the death penalty, according to Cliff Sloan, who teaches constitutional law and death penalty litigation at Georgetown Law.
“It’s unnecessary because the D.C. homicide rate has been declining and, even more fundamentally, because there is absolutely no correlation between the death penalty and a reduction in homicides,” Sloan said in an email to Fox News Digital. “States that have done away with the death penalty have not seen any increase in homicides. States that actively impose the death penalty, in contrast, have very high homicide rates.”
Although a majority of Americans – 53% – still back the death penalty, public support is declining and has reached a five-decade low, according to a Gallup poll released in November.
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