United States President Donald Trump has announced that his government will seek the death penalty in every murder case that unfolds in Washington, DC, as part of his crackdown on crime in the country’s capital.Trump made the announcement in the midst of a Labor Day-themed meeting of his cabinet on Tuesday, as he discussed a range of issues, from weapons sales to the rising cost of living.“Anybody murders something in the capital: capital punishment. Capital capital punishment,” Trump said, seeming to relish the wordplay.“If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, DC, we’re going to be seeking the death penalty. And that’s a very strong preventative, and everybody that’s heard it agrees with it.”Trump then acknowledged that the policy would likely be controversial, though he pledged to forge onwards.“I don’t know if we’re ready for it in this country, but we have no choice,” Trump said. “States are gonna have to make their own decision.”Federal prosecution in DCWashington, DC, occupies a unique position in the US. The country’s constitution defined the capital as a federal district, as opposed to a state or a city within a surrounding state.Elsewhere in the country, most murder cases are prosecuted by state or local authorities, unless they rise to the level of a federal crime.But in Washington, DC, t …
