American Executions Surged in 2025 to Highest Level in Over a Decade and a Half.

The count of executions in the United States has dramatically increased in 2025, hitting a level not seen in since 2009. This surge is attributed to a concerted push to revive the death penalty, coupled with a significant change in the stance of the US Supreme Court toward last-minute appeals.

A Grim Tally: 47 Executions in a Single Year

Exactly 47 individuals—each one were male—were executed by individual states maintaining the death penalty this year. This figure is nearly double the total from the previous year, constituting the highest annual total for capital punishment in the country since 2009.

"The evidence shows that the death penalty in 2025 is growing less popular with the public even as politicians schedule executions in search of waning political benefits."

A Global Outlier

This pronounced rise further isolates the US from most other developed nations, almost none of which still carry out executions. Currently, only Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan have carried out capital punishment among similarly developed states.

Contradictory Trends

The comeback of state killings clashes directly with broader patterns and current public sentiment. For years, the use of the death penalty had been in gradual decline. At the same time, surveys indicate approval of capital punishment for those convicted of murder has reached a half-century low, with just over half of Americans in favor. Most of adults under the age of 55 now are against it.

Presidential Influence

On his inauguration day back in office, the President issued an executive order titled "Restoring the Death Penalty." This order sought to guarantee that statutes permitting capital punishment were "respected and faithfully implemented," signaling a major shift 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 well-known anti-death penalty advocate.

A Surge in State Executions

The federal push was echoed and amplified at the state level. The state of Florida became a particular outlier, carrying out 19 executions in 2025—a dramatic increase from just one the previous year. This shattered the state's previous record.

Together with several other southern states, these four states were responsible for almost 75% of all executions this year. In total, a dozen states actively used their death chambers, up from nine in 2024.

Evolving Methods

As activity increased, some states adopted more controversial 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 condemned individual convulsed for multiple minutes during the process.

Meanwhile, a different state performed the initial use by firing squad in the US since 2010, using this method for three of its total executions this year. Reports suggested that in an instance, faulty targeting may have caused extended agony for the individual.

A Changed Judicial Landscape

The increase in death sentences carried out is also connected to the position of the US Supreme Court. The court's conservative majority denied every request 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 last resort for appeals based on claims of innocence, constitutional arguments, or charges of excessive cruelty. "We’re now operating lacking a crucial backup," noted a law professor. "The judiciary are meant to act as a backstop, but that safeguard has been eviscerated."