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

The count of state-sanctioned killings in the US has dramatically increased in 2025, reaching a rate not seen in since 2009. This sharp uptick is attributed to a concerted push to revive the death penalty, coupled with a significant change in the approach of the nation's highest court toward last-minute appeals.

A Grim Tally: Nearly 50 Deaths in a Single Year

Exactly 47 men—each one were male—were put to death by individual states maintaining the death penalty in 2025. This number represents nearly twice the count from the previous year, marking the highest annual total for executions in the United States in 16 years.

"The evidence shows that the death penalty in 2025 is increasingly unpopular with the American people even as elected officials schedule executions in search of diminishing political benefits."

A Global Outlier

This pronounced rise further isolates the United States from nearly all other advanced economies, almost none of which still carry out executions. Currently, only a handful of Asian nations have carried out executions among peer countries.

A Public Opinion Divide

The comeback of executions clashes directly with broader patterns and modern public opinion. For years, the use of the death penalty had been in a steady decrease. At the same time, polling indicate support for capital punishment for murder convictions has fallen to a 50-year low, with 52% of respondents 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 President issued an executive order titled "Restoring the Death Penalty." This order aimed to guarantee that laws authorizing capital punishment were "respected and faithfully implemented," marking a clear change from the prior administration.

"The tone is set, the national dialogue sent down from the top—the idea is to use harsh measures to solve social problems," stated a prominent activist against executions.

A Surge in State Executions

The national initiative was echoed and intensified 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 prior annual record.

Together with Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas, these a quartet of jurisdictions were the source of almost 75% of all deaths this year. In total, a dozen states employed their execution facilities, up from nine states in 2024.

Evolving Methods

As more executions occurred, some states turned to more controversial methods. 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 condemned individual convulsed for several minutes during the procedure.

Meanwhile, a different state carried out the first execution by a squad of shooters in the US since 2010, using this method for three of its five executions this year. Accounts suggested that in an instance, faulty targeting may have prolonged suffering for the condemned.

The Supreme Court's Role

The surge 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 rare display of judicial disengagement.

This marks a change from the court's historical role as a last resort for appeals based on innocence claims, constitutional arguments, or allegations of cruel punishment. "We’re now operating lacking a crucial backup," noted a legal scholar. "The judiciary are meant to act as a backstop, but that safeguard has been removed."