American Executions Surged in the Past Year to Highest Level in Over a Decade and a Half.
The count of state-sanctioned killings in the United States has dramatically increased in 2025, reaching a rate not seen in since 2009. This surge is linked to a focused campaign to reinvigorate the death penalty, coupled 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—each one were male—were put to death by states maintaining the death penalty this year. This figure is nearly double the total from 2024, constituting the highest annual total for capital punishment in the United States since 2009.
"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 separates the United States from most other developed nations, very few of which still carry out executions. Currently, only Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan have carried out executions among similarly developed states.
Contradictory Trends
The resurgence of state killings clashes directly with broader patterns and current public sentiment. For years, the use of the death penalty had been in gradual decline. At the same time, polling indicate support for capital punishment for those convicted of murder has fallen to a 50-year low, with just over half of Americans in favor. Most of adults under the age of 55 now are against it.
Executive Action Sets the Tone
On his inauguration day back in office, the sitting President issued an executive order titled "Restoring the Death Penalty." This order aimed to guarantee that statutes permitting capital punishment were "respected and faithfully implemented," signaling a major shift from the previous presidency.
"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. Florida became a notable outlier, carrying out 19 executions in 2025—a dramatic increase from just one the previous year. This broke the state's previous record.
Alongside Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas, these four states were the source of almost 75% of all executions this year. In total, a dozen states employed their execution facilities, up from nine in 2024.
Evolving Methods
As activity increased, some states turned to more controversial methods. One state concluded a long period without executions and became the second state to use nitrogen gas as an means of execution. Witnesses reported the prisoner convulsed for multiple minutes during the process.
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. Accounts suggested that in an instance, imprecise aim may have prolonged suffering for the individual.
A Changed Judicial Landscape
The surge in death sentences carried out is also linked to the position of the US Supreme Court. The court's conservative majority denied every request 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 final avenue for appeals based on claims of innocence, rights-based arguments, or charges of excessive cruelty. "The system now functions lacking a crucial backup," commented a law professor. "Federal courts are meant to act as a backstop, but that safeguard has been removed."