President Donald Trump has called for criminals who murder police officers to receive a mandatory death sentence.
The US President’s comments came after two officers in Los Angeles were critically injured after being shot as they sat in their patrol car.
Sharing a video of his comments on Twitter, he wrote: “If you murder a police officer, you should receive the death penalty!”
He also retweeted his son, Donald Trump Jr.’s tweet, which read: “Please pray for these two Sheriff Deputies. Their lives matter!! #BlueLivesMatter”. He added a caption which said: “If they die, fast trial death penalty for the killer. Only way to stop this!”
According to deathpenaltyinfo.org 28 states out of 50 have the death penalty in the United States.
It is believed Britain influenced America’s use of the death penalty more than any other country, with the first recorded execution of Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608.
The 22 states that do not have the death penalty are: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin, as well as the District of Columbia.
Colorado is currently the most recent state to abolish the death sentence in March 2020.
Three states – California, Oregon and Pennsylvania – have imposed moratoria, otherwise known as temporary suspension, on executions
For those who are found guilty in the states with the death penalty, they face waiting an average of 14 years and 8 months between sentencing and execution.
However, Trump wants the death penalty in all states for police killers.
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