The death penalty abolished decades ago in Washington’s jurisdiction for non -federal cases. Now the president of the United States, Donald Trump, wants to recover it and impose it on who perpetrates some homicide in the city, as part of “if a person murders someone in the capital, we will ask for the death penalty,” he announced during a meeting of more than three hours of his cabinet, the seventh of his mandate and broadcast entirely.
According to the president, this “is a very strong prevention measure”, but has assured that all its administration agrees. “I don’t know if we are prepared for this in this country. But we have no choice,” he justified. It is not clear how he intends to start that measure.
The president seems to have found a political gold vein in his campaign to fight crime in Washington. Most of the residents in the city, of 700,000 inhabitants, are against the control measures adopted by the president in the last two weeks, and that include the deployment of thousands of soldiers of the National Guard in Museums and Metro stops. But outside the capital and its cosmopolitan bubble, the step finds much greater acceptance. According to Harvard Caps-Harris published last week, 54% of Americans (85% among Republicans and 28% among Democrats) supports the initiative and considers it necessary.
For Trump, being hard against crime is a safe gain: American voters systematically place crime as one of their great concerns. When taking hard measures, the Democratic opposition to put on their side, or appears before citizens as weak against crime.
Trump announced on August 11 the taking of safety control in Washington, on the argument that crime is so runaway in the capital that constitutes a true national crisis. Although the level of crimes in the capital is higher than the United States average, it is at its lowest level in thirty years, according to official data. Some data that the Republican doubts, and on which he points out that he will open an investigation.
In addition to the 800 members of the Washington National Guard originally activated, six other republican majority states (West Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee) have sent reinforcements, to exceed 2,200 soldiers.
The Metropolitan Police and FBI federal agents, the Drug Control Administration (DEA) and the Immigration and Customs Control Service (ICE) are also patrol in the city.
According to the figures offered daily by the Attorney General, PAM Bondi, until Tuesday, 1,094 people have already been arrested in Washington and 115 illegal weapons have been requisitioned. Activists and organizations have denounced that federal agencies take advantage of this campaign to stop undocumented migrants.
