US Executions Skyrocketed in the Past Year to Peak in Over a Decade and a Half.

The count of state-sanctioned killings in the United States has sharply risen in 2025, reaching a rate not seen in since 2009. This sharp uptick is linked to a focused campaign to reinvigorate judicial killings, coupled with a significant change in the stance of the nation's highest court toward last-minute appeals.

A Grim Tally: 47 Executions in a Single Year

A total of 47 individuals—all of whom were male—were put to death by individual states maintaining the death penalty in 2025. This number represents nearly double the count from 2024, marking the most active period for executions in the country in 16 years.

"Data indicates that the death penalty in 2025 is increasingly unpopular with the American people even as politicians schedule executions in search of waning political benefits."

An International Exception

This sharp increase further isolates the US from nearly all other advanced economies, very few of which still carry out executions. In recent years, only a handful of Asian nations have carried out executions among peer countries.

A Public Opinion Divide

The comeback of executions stands in stark contrast with broader patterns and modern public opinion. For years, the use of the death penalty had been in a steady decrease. Meanwhile, surveys indicate approval of capital punishment for murder convictions has fallen to a 50-year low, with just over half of Americans in favor. A majority of citizens 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 "Restoring the Death Penalty." This order aimed to ensure that statutes permitting capital punishment were "upheld and properly enforced," 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," remarked a prominent anti-death penalty advocate.

A Surge in State Executions

The federal push was echoed and amplified at the state level. Florida emerged as a notable outlier, carrying out 19 executions in 2025—a staggering increase from just one the previous year. This broke the state's previous record.

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

More Extreme Execution Protocols

As more executions occurred, some states turned to more controversial methods. Louisiana concluded a 15-year hiatus and followed another state's lead to use nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method. Witnesses reported the prisoner visibly shook for several minutes during the procedure.

In another development, South Carolina carried out the first execution by firing squad in the US since 2010, deploying this approach for three of its total executions this year. Accounts suggested that in one case, faulty targeting may have prolonged suffering for the individual.

A Changed Judicial Landscape

The surge in death sentences carried out is also linked to the posture of the nation's highest court. The court's conservative majority rejected all applications to halt an execution in 2025, a rare display of reluctance to intervene.

This represents a shift 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 law professor. "Federal courts are meant to act as a final check, but that stop gap has been removed."