The US president has directed Attorney General Pamela Bondi to pursue capital punishment for violent crimes
President Donald Trump has pushed for the reinstatement of the death penalty in murder and other violent crime cases in Washington, DC, signing a presidential memorandum on Thursday that he said would help deter violence in the nation’s capital.
The order directs Attorney General Pamela Bondi and US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro to “fully implement” capital punishment where evidence supports it. Trump announced the move during a White House signing ceremony, surrounded by Bondi, Vice President J.D. Vance, FBI Director Kash Patel and others.
“Death penalty in Washington,” Trump said as he signed the directive. “You kill somebody, or if you kill a police officer, law enforcement officer – death penalty. And hopefully there won’t be that. We’ve had week after week where we haven’t had a murder.”
Introducing the memorandum, White House staff secretary Will Scharf described capital punishment as “one of the most powerful deterrents we have to violent crime” and said it was part of Trump’s effort to make Washington “a safe and secure city for its residents and all who visit.”
The measure follows Trump’s sweeping federal crackdown on crime in the capital. Back in August he invoked the 1973 Home Rule Act to declare a public safety emergency, placing the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and deploying hundreds of National Guard troops to support local law enforcement.
The death penalty has not been legal in Washington, DC, since the Supreme Court nullified capital punishment statutes nationwide in 1972. DC residents rejected its reinstatement in a 1992 referendum. While the federal government retains authority to seek capital punishment in certain cases, Trump’s attempt to extend its use across DC homicide prosecutions is expected to face legal and political challenges.
Twenty-seven US states currently allow executions, while 23 have abolished the practice. Trump has long advocated broader use of capital punishment as a deterrent against violent crime. In recent weeks, he has called for the death penalty for the killers of Ukrainian journalist Iryna Zarutska and conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
