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

The number of state-sanctioned killings in the US has sharply risen in 2025, hitting a level not seen in 16 years. This surge is linked to a focused campaign to reinvigorate the death penalty, coupled 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 states maintaining the death penalty in 2025. This figure is nearly double the total from 2024, marking the highest annual total for executions in the United States in 16 years.

"The evidence shows that the death penalty in 2025 is growing less popular with the public even as elected officials carry out death sentences in search of waning 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, just Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan have carried out executions among similarly developed states.

A Public Opinion Divide

The resurgence of executions stands in stark contrast with broader patterns and current public sentiment. Over the past two decades, the use of the death penalty had been in gradual decline. Meanwhile, polling indicate approval of capital punishment for murder convictions has fallen to a 50-year low, with 52% of respondents in favor. A majority of adults under the age of 55 now are against it.

Presidential Influence

On his first day back in office, the President issued an presidential directive titled "Reinstating Capital Punishment." This order sought to guarantee that statutes permitting capital punishment were "respected and faithfully implemented," marking a clear change from the previous presidency.

"It’s in the air, it’s in the national rhetoric sent down from the top—you use violence and cruelty to solve social problems," remarked a well-known activist against executions.

A Surge in State Executions

The federal push was mirrored and intensified at the level of individual states. The state of Florida became a notable outlier, conducting 19 executions in 2025—a staggering increase from just one the previous year. This broke the state's prior annual record.

Alongside Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas, these a quartet of jurisdictions were responsible for almost 75% of all deaths this year. Overall, 12 states actively used their death chambers, up from nine states in 2024.

More Extreme Execution Protocols

As activity increased, some states turned to increasingly extreme methods. One state ended a 15-year hiatus and followed another state's lead to employ nitrogen hypoxia as an means of execution. Witnesses reported the condemned individual convulsed for several minutes during the process.

In another development, South Carolina carried out the initial use by firing squad in the US since 2010, using this method for three of its five executions this year. Accounts suggested that in one case, faulty targeting may have caused extended agony for the individual.

The Supreme Court's Role

The increase in executions is also linked to the position of the nation's highest court. The court's conservative majority denied every request to halt an execution in 2025, a notable demonstration of judicial disengagement.

This marks a change from the court's historical role as a final avenue for legal challenges based on innocence claims, rights-based arguments, or charges of excessive cruelty. "We’re now operating without a safety net," commented a legal scholar. "The judiciary are meant to act as a backstop, but that stop gap has been removed."