US Executions Skyrocketed in the Past Year to Highest Level in 16 Years.
The number of executions in the United States has dramatically increased in 2025, reaching a rate not seen in since 2009. This surge is linked to a concerted push to revive the death penalty, combined with a significant change in the stance of the US Supreme Court toward eleventh-hour pleas.
A Grim Tally: 47 Executions in a Single Year
A total of 47 individuals—all of whom were male—were executed by individual states maintaining the death penalty in 2025. This number is nearly twice the count from the previous year, marking the highest annual total for executions in the United States in 16 years.
"The evidence shows that the death penalty in 2025 is growing less popular with the public even as elected officials carry out death sentences in search of waning political benefits."
An International Exception
This sharp increase further separates the US from nearly all other advanced economies, almost none of which still carry out executions. In recent years, only Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan have conducted capital punishment among peer countries.
Contradictory Trends
The comeback of executions stands in stark contrast with long-term trends and modern public opinion. Over the past two decades, the use of the death penalty had been in a steady decrease. Meanwhile, surveys indicate approval of capital punishment for those convicted of murder has reached a half-century low, with 52% of respondents in favor. Most of citizens under the age of 55 now are against it.
Presidential Influence
On his inauguration day back in office, the President issued an presidential directive titled "Reinstating Capital Punishment." This order sought to ensure that statutes permitting capital punishment were "upheld and properly enforced," signaling a major shift from the prior administration.
"It’s in the air, it’s in the national rhetoric sent down from the top—you use violence and cruelty to solve social problems," remarked a prominent activist against executions.
State-Level Frenzy
The national initiative was mirrored and intensified at the level of individual states. The state of Florida emerged as a particular extreme case, carrying out 19 executions in 2025—a dramatic increase from just one the year before. This shattered the state's previous record.
Alongside Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas, these four states were responsible for almost three-quarters of all executions this year. Overall, 12 states actively used their execution facilities, up from nine in 2024.
More Extreme Execution Protocols
As more executions occurred, some states turned to increasingly extreme methods. Louisiana concluded a long period without executions and became the second state to employ nitrogen gas as an means of execution. Observers reported the condemned individual convulsed for several minutes during the process.
Meanwhile, South Carolina performed the first execution by a squad of shooters in the US since 2010, using this method for three of its total executions this year. Accounts suggested that in an instance, faulty targeting may have caused extended agony for the condemned.
A Changed Judicial Landscape
The surge in executions is also connected to the position of the nation's highest court. The majority-conservative bench rejected all applications to stay an execution in 2025, a rare display of reluctance to intervene.
This marks a change from the court's historical role as a final avenue for appeals based on claims of innocence, constitutional arguments, or allegations of cruel punishment. "We’re now operating without a safety net," noted a law professor. "Federal courts are meant to act as a final check, but that stop gap has been eviscerated."
