US Executions Skyrocketed in 2025 to Peak in Over a Decade and a Half.

The number of executions in the US has sharply risen in 2025, hitting a level not seen in since 2009. This surge is linked to a concerted push to reinvigorate the death penalty, combined with a notable shift in the stance of the US Supreme Court toward eleventh-hour pleas.

A Sobering Count: Nearly 50 Deaths in a Single Year

Exactly 47 individuals—each one were male—were executed by individual states that utilize the death penalty this year. This figure is nearly double the total from 2024, marking the highest annual total for executions in the country in 16 years.

"The evidence shows that the death penalty in 2025 is growing less popular with the public even as politicians schedule executions in search of waning political benefits."

An International Exception

This pronounced rise further separates the United States from nearly all other advanced economies, almost none of which continue the practice. In recent years, only a handful of Asian nations have carried out executions among similarly developed states.

Contradictory Trends

The resurgence of state killings clashes directly with broader patterns and current public sentiment. Over the past two decades, the use of the death penalty had been in a steady decrease. Meanwhile, surveys indicate support for capital punishment for those convicted of murder has reached a half-century low, with just over half of respondents in favor. A majority of citizens under the age of 55 now oppose it.

Executive Action Sets the Tone

On his first day back in office, the President issued an presidential directive titled "Reinstating Capital Punishment." This order sought to ensure that laws authorizing capital punishment were "upheld and properly enforced," signaling a major shift from the prior administration.

"The tone is set, the national dialogue sent down from the top—you use violence and cruelty to solve social problems," remarked a well-known activist against executions.

State-Level Frenzy

The federal push was echoed and intensified at the state level. The state of Florida became a particular extreme case, conducting 19 executions in 2025—a dramatic 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 responsible for almost three-quarters of all deaths this year. Overall, a dozen states actively used their execution facilities, up from nine in 2024.

Evolving Methods

As more executions occurred, some states turned to more controversial methods. One state ended a long period without executions and followed another state's lead to employ nitrogen hypoxia as an means of execution. Witnesses reported the condemned individual visibly shook for multiple minutes during the procedure.

In another development, South Carolina performed the initial use by firing squad in the US since 2010, deploying this approach for three of its five executions this year. Reports suggested that in an instance, imprecise aim may have prolonged suffering for the individual.

A Changed Judicial Landscape

The increase in death sentences carried out is also connected to the posture of the nation's highest court. The majority-conservative bench rejected all applications to stay an execution in 2025, a notable demonstration of judicial disengagement.

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 charges of excessive cruelty. "We’re now operating lacking a crucial backup," noted a legal scholar. "The judiciary are supposed to serve as a backstop, but that stop gap has been eviscerated."