US Executions Skyrocketed in the Past Year to Highest Level in Over a Decade and a Half.
The count of executions in the United States has sharply risen in 2025, reaching a rate not seen in 16 years. This sharp uptick is linked to a concerted push to revive judicial killings, coupled with a significant change in the stance of the nation's highest court toward last-minute appeals.
A Sobering Count: Nearly 50 Deaths in a Single Year
A total of 47 individuals—all of whom were male—were executed by states that utilize the death penalty in 2025. This figure is nearly twice the count from 2024, marking the highest annual total for capital punishment in the United States in 16 years.
"Data indicates 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."
A Global Outlier
This sharp increase further isolates the US from nearly all other advanced economies, very few of which continue the practice. Currently, only a handful of Asian nations have carried out executions among similarly developed states.
Contradictory Trends
The comeback of state killings stands in stark contrast with long-term trends and current public sentiment. For years, the use of the death penalty had been in a steady decrease. Meanwhile, polling indicate approval of capital punishment for murder convictions has fallen to a 50-year low, with 52% of respondents in favor. A majority of citizens under the age of 55 now are against it.
Presidential Influence
On his first day back in office, the sitting President issued an presidential directive titled "Reinstating Capital Punishment." This order aimed 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," stated a prominent anti-death penalty advocate.
A Surge in State Executions
The federal push was mirrored and amplified at the state level. Florida became a notable outlier, conducting 19 executions in 2025—a staggering increase from just one the year before. This broke the state's previous 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 death chambers, up from nine states in 2024.
Evolving Methods
As activity increased, some states turned to more controversial techniques. One state concluded a long period without executions and became the second state to employ nitrogen hypoxia as an means of execution. Witnesses reported the prisoner convulsed for multiple minutes during the process.
In another development, South Carolina performed the initial use by a squad of shooters in the US since 2010, deploying this approach for three of its five executions this year. Reports 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 halt 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 allegations of cruel punishment. "We’re now operating without a safety net," commented a law professor. "The judiciary are meant to act as a final check, but that safeguard has been removed."
