American Executions Surged in the Past Year to Highest Level in 16 Years.

The number of executions in the US has sharply risen in 2025, reaching a rate not seen in 16 years. This sharp uptick is attributed to a focused campaign to reinvigorate judicial killings, combined with a significant change in the approach of the nation's highest court toward last-minute appeals.

A Sobering Count: 47 Executions in a Single Year

Exactly 47 individuals—each one were male—were put to death by states that utilize the death penalty this year. This figure is nearly twice the total from 2024, marking the highest annual total for executions in the United States since 2009.

"Data indicates that the death penalty in 2025 is increasingly unpopular with the public even as elected officials schedule executions in search of diminishing political benefits."

A Global Outlier

This pronounced rise further separates the US from nearly all other developed nations, very few of which still carry out executions. In recent years, just Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan have carried out executions 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, polling indicate approval of capital punishment for murder convictions 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 first day back in office, the President issued an executive order titled "Restoring the Death Penalty." This order sought to guarantee that laws authorizing capital punishment were "upheld and properly enforced," 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.

State-Level Frenzy

The national initiative was mirrored and intensified at the level of individual states. Florida emerged as a particular outlier, conducting 19 executions in 2025—a dramatic increase from just one the year before. This shattered the state's prior annual record.

Together with Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas, these four states were responsible for almost three-quarters of all executions this year. In total, 12 states employed their death chambers, up from nine states in 2024.

Evolving Methods

As activity increased, some states turned to increasingly extreme techniques. Louisiana concluded a long period without executions and became the second state to employ nitrogen hypoxia as an means of execution. Observers reported the prisoner convulsed for several minutes during the process.

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 five executions this year. Reports suggested that in one case, imprecise aim may have prolonged suffering for the condemned.

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 rejected all applications to stay an execution in 2025, a rare display of reluctance to intervene.

This represents a shift from the court's traditional function as a last resort for appeals based on innocence claims, rights-based arguments, or charges of excessive cruelty. "We’re now operating without a safety net," noted a law professor. "The judiciary are meant to act as a backstop, but that stop gap has been eviscerated."