US Executions Skyrocketed in 2025 to Peak in 16 Years.
The number of state-sanctioned killings in the US has dramatically increased in 2025, hitting a rate not seen in 16 years. This surge is attributed to a focused campaign to revive the death penalty, coupled with a significant change in the stance of the US Supreme Court toward last-minute appeals.
A Sobering Count: Nearly 50 Deaths in a Single Year
Exactly 47 individuals—all of whom were male—were put to death by states maintaining the death penalty this year. This figure represents nearly twice the total from 2024, marking the most active period for executions in the country since 2009.
"The evidence shows that the death penalty in 2025 is growing less popular with the American people even as elected officials schedule executions in search of diminishing political benefits."
An International Exception
This sharp increase further isolates 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 carried out capital punishment among similarly developed states.
Contradictory Trends
The comeback of executions clashes directly with long-term trends and current public sentiment. Over the past two decades, the use of the death penalty had been in a steady decrease. At the same time, surveys indicate approval of capital punishment for murder convictions has reached a half-century low, with just over half of Americans in favor. A majority of adults under the age of 55 now oppose it.
Presidential Influence
On his inauguration day back in office, the President issued an presidential directive titled "Restoring the Death Penalty." This order aimed to ensure that laws authorizing capital punishment were "respected and faithfully implemented," 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 well-known anti-death penalty advocate.
A Surge in State Executions
The national initiative was echoed and intensified at the state level. Florida emerged as a particular extreme case, 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 four states were responsible for almost 75% of all deaths this year. Overall, a dozen states actively used their death chambers, up from nine states in 2024.
More Extreme Execution Protocols
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 hypoxia as an execution method. Observers reported the prisoner visibly shook for multiple minutes during the process.
In another development, a different state carried out the first execution by firing squad in the US since 2010, using this method for three of its total executions this year. Accounts suggested that in one case, faulty targeting may have caused extended agony for the individual.
The Supreme Court's Role
The surge in executions is also linked to the posture of the US Supreme Court. The court's conservative majority rejected all applications to stay an execution in 2025, a rare display of judicial disengagement.
This marks a change from the court's traditional function as a final avenue for appeals based on innocence claims, constitutional arguments, or charges of excessive cruelty. "We’re now operating without a safety net," commented a law professor. "Federal courts are supposed to serve as a final check, but that safeguard has been eviscerated."
