Overview

• The president announced the directive during a Cabinet meeting on Aug. 26 after seizing control of the city’s police force and deploying the National Guard.
• Washington’s local law has no death penalty, with the district’s statute voided in 1972, repealed in 1981, and rejected by voters in a 1992 referendum.
• Reporters and legal experts say any implementation could involve federal charges or congressional action, and mandatory death sentences have been ruled unconstitutional.
• Robin M. Maher of the Death Penalty Information Center warned that broad pursuit of capital cases would be expensive and could overwhelm the city’s legal system.
• Recent data show violent crime in Washington has declined, undercutting the administration’s claim of a crime emergency.