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

The count of executions in the US has dramatically increased in 2025, hitting a level not seen in since 2009. This sharp uptick is linked to a concerted push to reinvigorate judicial killings, coupled with a notable shift in the stance of the US Supreme Court toward last-minute appeals.

A Sobering Count: 47 Executions in a Single Year

A total of 47 individuals—each one were male—were put to death by states maintaining the death penalty in 2025. This number is nearly twice the count from the previous year, marking the highest annual total for executions in the country since 2009.

"Data indicates that the death penalty in 2025 is growing less popular with the American people even as politicians carry out death sentences in search of diminishing political benefits."

An International Exception

This sharp increase further separates the US from nearly all other advanced economies, very few 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 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 just over half of Americans in favor. A majority of citizens under the age of 55 now oppose it.

Presidential Influence

On his first day back in office, the sitting President issued an executive order titled "Reinstating Capital Punishment." This order aimed to guarantee that laws authorizing capital punishment were "respected and faithfully implemented," signaling a major shift from the prior administration.

"The tone is set, the national dialogue sent down from the top—you use violence and cruelty to solve social problems," remarked a well-known anti-death penalty advocate.

State-Level Frenzy

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

Alongside several other southern states, these four states were the source of almost 75% of all executions this year. In total, a dozen states employed their death chambers, up from nine in 2024.

More Extreme Execution Protocols

As activity increased, some states turned to increasingly extreme methods. Louisiana concluded a long period without executions and followed another state's lead to employ nitrogen hypoxia as an means of execution. Witnesses reported the condemned individual convulsed for multiple minutes during the procedure.

Meanwhile, South Carolina performed the first execution by firing squad in the US since 2010, using this method for three of its total executions this year. Accounts suggested that in one case, imprecise aim may have caused extended agony for the condemned.

The Supreme Court's Role

The surge 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 notable demonstration of reluctance to intervene.

This marks a change from the court's traditional function as a final avenue for legal challenges based on innocence claims, rights-based arguments, or charges of excessive cruelty. "The system now functions lacking a crucial backup," noted a law professor. "Federal courts are meant to act as a final check, but that safeguard has been removed."