“If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, D.C., we’re going to be seeking the death penalty. And that’s a very strong preventative. Everybody who has heard it agrees with it. I don’t know if we’re ready for it in this country, but we have no choice. So in D.C. — states are going to have to make their own decisions — but if somebody kills somebody, like you could have been killed, very lucky you weren’t killed, it’s the death penalty,” President Donald Trump said.
The death penalty push is part of Trump’s aggressive effort to control law enforcement in the District, including deploying and arming National Guard troops.
But the issue is that Washington, D.C., hasn’t had the death penalty for more than four decades.
The Supreme Court struck it down in 1972. The D.C. Council repealed it in 1981, and voters rejected reinstating it in 1992.
Trump’s push comes as crime in D.C. is trending down.
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
