President Trump announced that his administration will seek the death penalty in all murder cases in Washington, DC, though implementing this faces significant legal and practical challenges, including jury reluctance and the city’s existing laws that do not authorize capital punishment. The US attorney’s office may pursue federal charges to seek the death penalty, but conviction by juries remains a hurdle, as historically juries in DC have been hesitant to impose such sentences.
Oakland police officer Phong Tran has been charged with perjury and bribery during a 2016 murder trial, leading to the review of 125 homicide cases he was involved in as an investigator. Tran was charged with two felony counts of perjury under oath and for lying under oath during a murder trial in 2016 and at a preliminary hearing in 2014. He was also charged with felony subordination of perjury under oath, felony bribery of a witness, and felony attempted bribery of a witness. The two murder convictions in the case were thrown out last year when an eyewitness came forward again, this time to retract.
