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

The number of state-sanctioned killings in the US has sharply risen in 2025, hitting a rate not seen in 16 years. This surge is linked to a focused campaign to revive judicial killings, combined with a notable shift in the stance of the US Supreme Court toward eleventh-hour pleas.

A Grim Tally: 47 Executions in a Single Year

Exactly 47 men—each one were male—were put to death by states maintaining the death penalty this year. This figure is nearly double the count from 2024, marking the most active period for executions in the country since 2009.

"Data indicates that the death penalty in 2025 is growing less popular with the public even as elected officials carry out death sentences in search of waning political benefits."

A Global Outlier

This pronounced rise further separates the United States from most other advanced economies, almost none of which still carry out executions. In recent years, only Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan have carried out executions among peer countries.

Contradictory Trends

The comeback of executions stands in stark contrast 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 52% of Americans in favor. Most of adults under the age of 55 now are against it.

Executive Action Sets the Tone

On his first day back in office, the sitting President issued an executive order titled "Reinstating Capital Punishment." This order sought to ensure that laws authorizing capital punishment were "upheld and properly enforced," signaling a major shift 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," stated a well-known anti-death penalty advocate.

State-Level Frenzy

The national initiative was mirrored and amplified at the state level. Florida became a particular extreme case, conducting 19 executions in 2025—a dramatic increase from just one the previous year. This shattered the state's prior annual record.

Together with Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas, these four states were responsible for almost 75% of all executions this year. Overall, a dozen states actively used their death chambers, up from nine states in 2024.

Evolving Methods

As more executions occurred, some states turned to increasingly extreme methods. One state ended a long period without executions and followed another state's lead to employ nitrogen gas as an means of execution. Witnesses reported the condemned individual visibly shook for multiple minutes during the process.

Meanwhile, South Carolina performed the initial use by firing squad in the US since 2010, using this method for three of its five executions this year. Accounts suggested that in an instance, imprecise aim may have caused extended agony for the individual.

A Changed Judicial Landscape

The increase in death sentences carried out is also connected to the posture of the US Supreme Court. The majority-conservative bench denied every request to stay an execution in 2025, a notable demonstration of judicial disengagement.

This represents a shift from the court's traditional function as a final avenue for legal challenges based on innocence claims, constitutional arguments, or allegations of cruel punishment. "We’re now operating without a safety net," commented a law professor. "Federal courts are meant to act as a backstop, but that stop gap has been removed."