US Executions Surged in 2025 to Peak in 16 Years.
The number of executions in the United States has dramatically increased in 2025, reaching a level not seen in since 2009. This surge is attributed to a concerted push to reinvigorate judicial killings, coupled with a significant change in the approach of the nation's highest court toward last-minute appeals.
A Sobering Count: 47 Executions in a Single Year
A total of 47 individuals—each one were male—were put to death by individual states maintaining the death penalty this year. This figure is nearly twice the count from 2024, constituting the highest annual total for capital punishment in the country in 16 years.
"Data indicates that the death penalty in 2025 is increasingly unpopular with the public even as politicians carry out death sentences in search of waning political benefits."
A Global Outlier
This pronounced rise further separates the US from nearly all other developed nations, very few of which still carry out executions. Currently, just a handful of Asian nations have carried out executions among similarly developed states.
Contradictory Trends
The comeback of executions stands in stark contrast with broader patterns and current public sentiment. Over the past two decades, the use of the death penalty had been in gradual decline. At the same time, polling indicate support for capital punishment for murder convictions has fallen to a 50-year low, with 52% of respondents in favor. A majority of adults under the age of 55 now oppose it.
Executive Action Sets the Tone
On his inauguration day back in office, the President issued an executive order titled "Reinstating Capital Punishment." This order sought to ensure that laws authorizing capital punishment were "respected and faithfully implemented," marking a clear change from the previous presidency.
"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 well-known activist against executions.
A Surge in State Executions
The national initiative was mirrored and amplified at the level of individual states. The state of Florida became a notable outlier, carrying out 19 executions in 2025—a staggering increase from just one the previous year. This shattered the state's prior annual record.
Alongside Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas, these a quartet of jurisdictions were the source of almost three-quarters of all deaths this year. In total, a dozen states actively used their execution facilities, up from nine in 2024.
Evolving Methods
As activity increased, some states adopted increasingly extreme methods. Louisiana concluded a 15-year hiatus and followed another state's lead to employ nitrogen hypoxia as an means of execution. Witnesses reported the prisoner convulsed for multiple minutes during the procedure.
Meanwhile, a different state performed the first execution by firing squad in the US since 2010, using this method for three of its total executions this year. Reports suggested that in an instance, faulty targeting may have caused extended agony for the condemned.
The Supreme Court's Role
The surge in death sentences carried out is also linked to the posture of the US Supreme Court. The majority-conservative bench rejected all applications to stay an execution in 2025, a notable demonstration of reluctance to intervene.
This marks a change from the court's historical role as a last resort for legal challenges based on innocence claims, rights-based arguments, or allegations of cruel punishment. "We’re now operating without a safety net," commented a legal scholar. "Federal courts are meant to act as a backstop, but that safeguard has been removed."
