American Executions Surged in 2025 to Peak in Over a Decade and a Half.
The number of state-sanctioned killings in the US has dramatically increased in 2025, hitting a rate not seen in since 2009. This surge is attributed to a focused campaign to revive judicial killings, 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 men—all of whom were male—were executed by individual states that utilize the death penalty in 2025. This number represents nearly double the total from the previous year, marking the highest annual total for capital punishment in the country since 2009.
"The evidence shows that the death penalty in 2025 is increasingly unpopular with the American people even as politicians carry out death sentences in search of diminishing political benefits."
A Global Outlier
This pronounced rise further separates the US from nearly all other developed nations, almost none of which continue the practice. Currently, just a handful of Asian nations have carried out executions among similarly developed states.
Contradictory Trends
The comeback of state killings clashes directly with long-term trends and modern public opinion. For years, the use of the death penalty had been in a steady decrease. Meanwhile, polling indicate approval of capital punishment for those convicted of murder has fallen to a 50-year low, with just over half of Americans in favor. Most of citizens 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 executive order titled "Restoring the Death Penalty." This order sought to guarantee that laws authorizing capital punishment were "upheld and properly enforced," 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," remarked a prominent activist against executions.
A Surge in State Executions
The federal push was mirrored and amplified at the state level. The state of Florida emerged as a notable outlier, conducting 19 executions in 2025—a dramatic increase from just one the year before. This shattered the state's previous record.
Together with several other southern states, these a quartet of jurisdictions were the source of almost three-quarters of all deaths this year. Overall, a dozen states employed their execution facilities, up from nine states in 2024.
Evolving Methods
As activity increased, some states adopted increasingly extreme techniques. Louisiana concluded a 15-year hiatus and followed another state's lead to employ nitrogen gas as an execution method. Witnesses reported the prisoner visibly shook for multiple minutes during the procedure.
In another development, a different state carried out the first execution 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 an instance, faulty targeting may have prolonged suffering for the individual.
A Changed Judicial Landscape
The increase in death sentences carried out is also linked to the position of the US Supreme Court. The majority-conservative bench denied every request to stay an execution in 2025, a rare display of reluctance to intervene.
This marks a change from the court's historical role as a last resort for legal challenges based on claims of innocence, constitutional arguments, or charges of excessive cruelty. "We’re now operating lacking a crucial backup," commented a legal scholar. "The judiciary are meant to act as a backstop, but that safeguard has been removed."
