Trump seeks to bring back the death penalty for cases of murder of Washington DC

President Donald Trump said he was planning to continue the recovery of the death penalty in Washington for people who are guilty of murder in the midst of his repression of crime in the national capital.

“If someone kills someone in the capital, Washington, DC, we will ask the death penalty,” Trump told journalists at a meeting on Tuesday. “And it is a very strong preventive. And all those who heard it agree. I do not know if we are ready for that in this country, but we have it. … We have no choice.”

The decision of the 1972 Supreme Court in Furman v. Georgia determined that the death penalty had violated the provision of the eighth amendment prohibiting a cruel and unusual sentence, and the DC council officially canceled the death penalty in 1981, according to the non -profit organization The Death Pinnalty Information Center.

Twenty-seven states still authorize the death penalty, while 23 states have no capital pain. Four states – California, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Oregon – have a grip on executions in their state, by order of the governors of their respective state.

Some national guard troops are now armed in Washington, DC

President Donald Trump holds a meeting of the cabinet with members of his administration in the house of the White House cabinet on August 26, 2025 in Washington. This is the seventh meeting of the Cabinet of the second term of Trump. (SOMODEVILLA / GETTY Images)

No additional details were immediately available. The White House referred to Fox News Digital to Trump’s comments at the office of the cabinet.

On August 11, Trump unveiled plans to deploy troops from the DC National Guard and to unite the Metropolitan Police Department to fight crime in Washington. Since then, the American lawyer Jeanine Pirro said that there had been more than 1,000 arrests and, Monday, 12 consecutive days without homicide in the capital.

Hundreds arrested like Trump in Washington, DC, the repression of the crime strikes full stride

President Donald Trump speaks with members of the police and soldiers of the National Guard, on August 21, 2025, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin / AP Photo)

Trump initially hit 800 Troops of the National Guard DC in the context of his efforts to reduce crime in Washington, but now, the troops of the Ohio National Guard, Virginia-Western, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee were also deployed in Washington to support the efforts of the Trump administration.

The 1973 law on the domicile rule authorized a temporary federal takeover of the metropolitan police service for emergency situations up to 30 days. But after 30 days, the congress must approve any extension.

However, similar restrictions do not exist for the Troops of the National Guard of DC in the law on the rule of the domicile.

Trump has long supported the death penalty and signed a decree in January entitled “Restoring the death penalty and protecting public security”. The order asks the Attorney General to “continue the death penalty for all crimes of a severity requiring its use”.

“Capital penalty is an essential tool to dissuade and punish those who would commit the most odious crimes and acts of deadly violence against American citizens,” said the order. “Before, during and after the United States Foundation, our cities, states and countries have continuously relied on capital punishment such as ultimate deterrence and the only appropriate punishment for the most vile crimes.”

Troops of the National Guard of Six Red States go to DC to help fight crime

The national guard troops were posted at Union Station while the commuters and the tourists arrived. (Fox News Digital / Emma Woodhead)