US Executions Skyrocketed in the Past Year to Highest Level in Over a Decade and a Half.
The count of state-sanctioned killings in the US 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 approach of the nation's highest court toward eleventh-hour pleas.
A Sobering Count: 47 Executions in a Single Year
Exactly 47 individuals—each one were male—were executed by individual states maintaining the death penalty this year. This number represents nearly twice the count from the previous year, marking the highest annual total for capital punishment in the country in 16 years.
"Data indicates 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."
An International Exception
This sharp increase further separates the US from nearly all other advanced economies, very few of which continue the practice. Currently, only Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan have carried out capital punishment among similarly developed states.
Contradictory Trends
The comeback of executions clashes directly with broader patterns and modern public opinion. Over the past two decades, the use of the death penalty had been in a steady decrease. Meanwhile, surveys indicate approval of capital punishment for those convicted of murder has fallen to a 50-year low, with just over half of respondents in favor. Most of citizens under the age of 55 now are against it.
Presidential Influence
On his inauguration day back in office, the President issued an executive order titled "Restoring the Death Penalty." This order aimed to guarantee that statutes permitting 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 well-known anti-death penalty advocate.
A Surge in State Executions
The national initiative was echoed and intensified at the state level. Florida emerged as a notable extreme case, carrying out 19 executions in 2025—a dramatic increase from just one the year before. This broke the state's prior annual record.
Alongside Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas, these four states were the source of almost three-quarters of all executions this year. In total, a dozen states actively used their death chambers, up from nine states in 2024.
More Extreme Execution Protocols
As more executions occurred, some states adopted increasingly extreme techniques. One state ended a 15-year hiatus and became the second state to employ nitrogen gas as an means of execution. Observers reported the condemned individual visibly shook for several minutes during the procedure.
In another development, South Carolina performed the initial use by firing squad in the US since 2010, using this method for three of its total executions this year. Accounts suggested that in one case, faulty targeting may have prolonged suffering for the individual.
The Supreme Court's Role
The surge in executions 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 rare display of reluctance to intervene.
This represents a shift from the court's historical role as a final avenue for legal challenges based on claims of innocence, constitutional arguments, or allegations of cruel punishment. "The system now functions without a safety net," noted a law professor. "Federal courts are meant to act as a final check, but that stop gap has been eviscerated."
