American Executions Surged in the Past Year 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 rate not seen in since 2009. This surge is linked to a focused campaign to reinvigorate the death penalty, 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 individuals—all of whom were male—were executed by states maintaining the death penalty this year. This number represents nearly twice the count from 2024, constituting the highest annual total for capital punishment in the country since 2009.

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

A Global Outlier

This sharp increase further isolates the United States from nearly all other advanced economies, almost none of which still carry out executions. Currently, only Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan have conducted executions among similarly developed states.

A Public Opinion Divide

The resurgence of state killings stands in stark contrast with long-term trends 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 reached a half-century low, with 52% 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 sitting President issued an presidential directive titled "Restoring the Death Penalty." This order sought to ensure that statutes permitting capital punishment were "upheld and properly enforced," signaling a major shift from the previous presidency.

"The tone is set, the national dialogue 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 federal push was mirrored and intensified at the level of individual states. Florida became a notable outlier, conducting 19 executions in 2025—a dramatic increase from just one the year before. 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 executions this year. In total, a dozen states employed their execution facilities, up from nine in 2024.

More Extreme Execution Protocols

As more executions occurred, some states turned to increasingly extreme methods. 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 visibly shook for multiple minutes during the process.

Meanwhile, a different state carried out the first execution by a squad of shooters in the US since 2010, deploying this approach for three of its total executions this year. Accounts suggested that in one case, imprecise aim may have caused extended agony for the individual.

The Supreme Court's Role

The increase in death sentences carried out is also connected to the position of the US Supreme Court. The court's conservative majority rejected all applications to stay an execution in 2025, a rare display of reluctance to intervene.

This marks a change from the court's traditional function as a final avenue for appeals based on claims of innocence, rights-based arguments, or allegations of cruel punishment. "The system now functions without a safety net," commented a law professor. "Federal courts are supposed to serve as a final check, but that safeguard has been eviscerated."