Overview

• Trump said he wants prosecutors to seek death sentences for murders in the capital, describing the measure as a strong deterrent.
• Washington abolished capital punishment in 1981, but federal law permits capital charges in eligible cases, a route the administration could pursue despite legal fights over federal control of D.C. policing.
• Police reported roughly 12 days without a homicide before a 31-year-old shooting victim died early Tuesday, and the suspect search continues.
• Since the Aug. 11 National Guard deployment, police data show violent crime at about half of the same period last year and overall crime down roughly 20 percent, though rates had already been easing.
• Research compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center finds no clear deterrent effect and higher murder rates in death-penalty states, challenging the policy rationale.