US Executions Skyrocketed in the Past Year to Highest Level in 16 Years.

The count of executions in the US has sharply risen in 2025, hitting a rate not seen in since 2009. This surge is linked to a concerted push to reinvigorate judicial killings, coupled with a notable shift in the stance of the nation's highest court toward last-minute appeals.

A Sobering Count: Nearly 50 Deaths in a Single Year

Exactly 47 men—all of whom were male—were put to death by individual states maintaining the death penalty in 2025. This number represents nearly double the total from 2024, constituting the most active period for capital punishment in the country since 2009.

"The evidence shows that the death penalty in 2025 is increasingly unpopular with the American people even as elected officials carry out death sentences in search of waning political benefits."

A Global Outlier

This pronounced rise further separates the US from most other developed nations, almost none of which still carry out executions. In recent years, just a handful of Asian nations have conducted executions among similarly developed states.

Contradictory Trends

The comeback of executions clashes directly with long-term trends and current public sentiment. For years, the use of the death penalty had been in gradual decline. At the same time, polling indicate support for capital punishment for murder convictions has reached a half-century low, with just over half of respondents in favor. A majority of adults under the age of 55 now oppose it.

Executive Action Sets the Tone

On his inauguration day back in office, the President issued an presidential directive titled "Reinstating Capital Punishment." This order sought to ensure that laws authorizing capital punishment were "respected and faithfully implemented," marking a clear change from the prior administration.

"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 prominent activist against executions.

A Surge in State Executions

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

Together with several other southern states, these a quartet of jurisdictions were the source of almost three-quarters of all deaths this year. In total, a dozen states employed their death chambers, up from nine states in 2024.

More Extreme Execution Protocols

As more executions occurred, some states turned to increasingly extreme techniques. One state ended a long period without executions and became the second state to use nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method. Witnesses reported the prisoner convulsed for several minutes during the process.

In another development, South Carolina performed the first execution by a squad of shooters in the US since 2010, using this method for three of its total executions this year. Reports suggested that in one case, faulty targeting may have prolonged suffering for the condemned.

The Supreme Court's Role

The surge in executions is also linked to the posture of the nation's highest court. The court's conservative majority denied every request to halt an execution in 2025, a notable demonstration 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, rights-based arguments, or charges of excessive cruelty. "The system now functions lacking a crucial backup," commented a law professor. "The judiciary are supposed to serve as a backstop, but that safeguard has been removed."