Trump to seek death penalty for murders in US capital

Donald Trump has announced he would seek the death penalty for murders in Washington, citing out-of-control crime. Photo / AFP

US President Donald Trump says he will seek the death penalty for the perpetrators of any murders in Washington DC, as part of a crackdown on what he calls out-of-control crime in the US capital.

“If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington DC, we’re going to be seeking the death penalty,” Trump said at a Cabinet meeting in the White House.

“It’s a very strong preventative and everybody that’s heard it agrees with it,” Trump said.

Republican Trump deployed the National Guard to Democrat-run Washington and took federal control of the city’s police department this month.

Washington – formally known as the District of Columbia – abolished the death penalty in 1981.

The US capital has a unique legal status as it is not a state and operates under a relationship with the federal Government that limits its autonomy and grants Congress extraordinary control over local matters.

Trump used this loophole to send the National Guard into Washington earlier this month to combat what he said was runaway crime and homelessness.

This week he boasted of a days-long streak without murders in the city and said he was also taking steps to beautify the capital, which is home to the White House, the US Capitol and other key institutions.

National Guard troops began carrying weapons in Washington last weekend.

Trump says he is considering similar moves for other Democrat-run cities including Chicago, New York and Baltimore.

– Agence France-Presse