USA - Rhode Island. U.S. District Judge William Smith has ordered the U.S. DoJ to indicate whether it will seek the death penalty for Jason Pleau

U.S. District Judge William Smith has ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to indicate whether it will seek the death penalty in the case of Jason Pleau, an inmate at the center of a legal tug-of-war between Rhode Island's governor and federal prosecutors. The Justice Department must say by Tuesday whether it plans to seek the death penalty. Pleau is accused of shooting a man outside a Woonsocket bank in 2010. Gov. Lincoln Chafee had refused to surrender Pleau to federal authorities, saying they want to try him to make the death penalty a possible punishment. An appeals court ruled he may stand trial in federal court.