Overview
- President Trump signed a presidential memorandum directing Attorney General Pam Bondi and D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro to seek capital sentences in all appropriate Washington cases after a full review of evidence.
- It instructs prosecutors to pursue federal jurisdiction in the District to the maximum practicable extent for offenses eligible for the death penalty under federal law.
- Bondi said the Justice Department will again pursue capital punishment nationwide and is moving inmates taken off death row under the previous administration into Supermax facilities to be treated as if on death row.
- Washington, D.C. abolished capital punishment in 1981, so most local murder cases in Superior Court cannot seek death, while federal charging in eligible cases remains possible and could face resistance from city juries.
- The White House presents the move as part of its August crime‑emergency response that included federalizing elements of policing and deploying the National Guard, as critics and analysts anticipate political pushback and court challenges.