US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing the death penalty for those accused of murder in Washington.
Trump noted at a meeting with reporters at the White House that the death penalty is consistent with Washington's status as a capital. “We're not playing games“, the president said, citing data showing that in the past four weeks since the deployment of National Guard troops in the city, there have been no murders.
“Those who kill people in Washington face the death penalty“, Trump stressed, noting that the executive order “takes effect immediately“. Attorney General Pam Bondi, for her part, noted that the US administration will seek to legalize the death penalty nationwide.
In recent decades, the number of executions in the United States has sharply declined amid legal disputes, a shortage of lethal injection drugs and declining public support for the punishment. Most states have either abolished or suspended the death penalty. After taking office in January, Trump signed an executive order restoring the federal death penalty and ordering all states to ensure an adequate supply of lethal injection drugs.