US Executions Surged 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 rate not seen in 16 years. This surge is linked to a concerted push to revive 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

A total of 47 men—each one were male—were put to death by individual states maintaining the death penalty this year. This figure is nearly twice the total from the previous year, marking the most active period for capital punishment in the country in 16 years.

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

A Global Outlier

This sharp increase further separates the United States from nearly all other advanced economies, almost none of which still carry out executions. In recent years, just a handful of Asian nations have conducted executions among similarly developed states.

A Public Opinion Divide

The comeback 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, 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. A majority of citizens under the age of 55 now are against it.

Presidential Influence

On his inauguration day back in office, the sitting President issued an presidential directive titled "Restoring the Death Penalty." This order sought to ensure that statutes permitting capital punishment were "respected and faithfully implemented," signaling a major shift from the previous presidency.

"It’s in the air, it’s in the national rhetoric sent down from the top—the idea is to use harsh measures to solve social problems," stated a well-known activist against executions.

A Surge in State Executions

The national initiative was mirrored and intensified at the level of individual states. The state of Florida became a notable extreme case, carrying out 19 executions in 2025—a staggering increase from just one the year before. This shattered the state's previous record.

Together with several other southern states, these four states were the source of almost 75% of all executions this year. Overall, 12 states employed their execution facilities, up from nine states in 2024.

Evolving Methods

As more executions occurred, some states turned to more controversial techniques. One state ended a long period without executions and followed another state's lead to employ nitrogen hypoxia as an means of execution. Observers reported the prisoner convulsed for several minutes during the process.

Meanwhile, a different state carried out the initial use by a squad of shooters in the US since 2010, using this method for three of its five executions this year. Reports suggested that in one case, imprecise aim may have caused extended agony for the condemned.

A Changed Judicial Landscape

The surge in death sentences carried out is also connected to the position of the nation's highest court. The court's conservative majority rejected all applications to stay an execution in 2025, a rare display of judicial disengagement.

This represents a shift from the court's traditional function as a final avenue for appeals based on claims of innocence, rights-based 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 backstop, but that safeguard has been removed."