Overview

• An Oval Office memorandum instructs Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro to seek capital punishment in eligible federal cases arising in the District.
• Bondi said the Justice Department will pursue the death penalty across the United States, expanding the policy beyond Washington.
• Bondi also announced transfers of inmates removed from federal death row to maximum‑security prisons to be treated as if still on death row.
• D.C. law prohibits capital punishment and most homicides proceed in Superior Court, yet federal prosecutors can bring eligible charges in U.S. District Court where death sentences remain authorized.
• Legal analysts and prior reporting say the initiative will face courtroom challenges and potential resistance from D.C. juries, which could delay or limit any executions.