American Executions Skyrocketed in the Past Year to Highest Level in Over a Decade and a Half.
The number of executions in the United States has dramatically increased in 2025, hitting a level not seen in 16 years. This sharp uptick is linked to a focused campaign to reinvigorate judicial killings, coupled with a notable shift in the stance of the US Supreme Court toward eleventh-hour pleas.
A Sobering Count: Nearly 50 Deaths in a Single Year
A total of 47 individuals—all of whom were male—were put to death by states maintaining the death penalty in 2025. This number is nearly double the count from 2024, marking the highest annual total for executions in the United States since 2009.
"The evidence shows that the death penalty in 2025 is growing less popular with the American people even as politicians schedule executions in search of diminishing political benefits."
A Global Outlier
This sharp increase further isolates the US from nearly all other developed nations, very few of which still carry out executions. Currently, only Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan have carried out capital punishment among similarly developed states.
A Public Opinion Divide
The comeback of state killings clashes directly with broader patterns and modern public opinion. Over the past two decades, the use of the death penalty had been in a steady decrease. At the same time, surveys indicate support for capital punishment for murder convictions has reached a half-century low, with 52% of respondents in favor. A majority of adults under the age of 55 now are against it.
Executive Action Sets the Tone
On his inauguration day back in office, the President issued an presidential directive titled "Reinstating Capital Punishment." This order sought to guarantee that statutes permitting capital punishment were "upheld and properly enforced," signaling a major shift from the prior administration.
"The tone is set, the national dialogue sent down from the top—you use violence and cruelty to solve social problems," stated a well-known activist against executions.
A Surge in State Executions
The national initiative was mirrored and intensified at the level of individual states. The state of Florida became a particular outlier, carrying out 19 executions in 2025—a dramatic increase from just one the previous year. This broke the state's previous record.
Together with Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas, these a quartet of jurisdictions were responsible for almost 75% of all deaths this year. In total, 12 states employed their death chambers, up from nine in 2024.
Evolving Methods
As activity increased, some states turned to increasingly extreme techniques. One state concluded a long period without executions and followed another state's lead to use nitrogen gas as an means of execution. Witnesses reported the condemned individual visibly shook for multiple minutes during the procedure.
Meanwhile, a different state performed the first execution by a squad of shooters in the US since 2010, deploying this approach for three of its total executions this year. Reports suggested that in an instance, faulty targeting may have prolonged suffering for the condemned.
The Supreme Court's Role
The surge in executions is also connected to the posture of the US Supreme Court. The majority-conservative bench denied every request to halt an execution in 2025, a notable demonstration of reluctance to intervene.
This marks a change from the court's traditional function as a final avenue for legal challenges based on claims of innocence, rights-based arguments, or allegations of cruel punishment. "We’re now operating lacking a crucial backup," noted a legal scholar. "Federal courts are supposed to serve as a final check, but that safeguard has been removed."