American Executions Surged in the Past Year to Peak in 16 Years.

The number of state-sanctioned killings in the United States has sharply risen in 2025, reaching a level not seen in 16 years. This sharp uptick is attributed to a focused campaign to reinvigorate the death penalty, coupled with a notable shift in the approach of the nation's highest court toward eleventh-hour pleas.

A Sobering Count: Nearly 50 Deaths in a Single Year

Exactly 47 individuals—each one were male—were executed by individual states maintaining the death penalty this year. This number is nearly twice the total from the previous year, marking the most active period for executions in the country since 2009.

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

An International Exception

This sharp increase further isolates the US from nearly all other advanced economies, almost none of which continue the practice. In recent years, only a handful of Asian nations have conducted executions among peer countries.

A Public Opinion Divide

The resurgence of state killings stands in stark contrast with long-term trends and modern public opinion. For years, the use of the death penalty had been in gradual decline. Meanwhile, polling indicate support for capital punishment for those convicted of murder has reached a half-century low, with 52% of respondents in favor. Most of adults under the age of 55 now oppose it.

Executive Action Sets the Tone

On his first day back in office, the President issued an presidential directive titled "Reinstating Capital Punishment." This order aimed to guarantee that statutes permitting capital punishment were "upheld and properly enforced," marking a clear change 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," stated a prominent anti-death penalty advocate.

State-Level Frenzy

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

Alongside several other southern states, these four states were the source of almost three-quarters of all executions this year. Overall, a dozen states actively used their death chambers, up from nine states in 2024.

More Extreme Execution Protocols

As more executions occurred, some states adopted more controversial techniques. One state concluded a 15-year hiatus and followed another state's lead to employ nitrogen gas as an execution method. Witnesses reported the prisoner visibly shook for multiple minutes during the process.

Meanwhile, South Carolina performed the initial use by a squad of shooters in the US since 2010, using this method for three of its five executions this year. Accounts suggested that in one case, imprecise aim may have prolonged suffering for the individual.

The Supreme Court's Role

The increase in executions is also connected to the posture of the nation's highest court. The majority-conservative bench rejected all applications to stay an execution in 2025, a rare display of reluctance to intervene.

This represents a shift from the court's historical role as a last resort for legal challenges based on claims of innocence, rights-based arguments, or allegations of cruel punishment. "The system now functions lacking a crucial backup," noted a legal scholar. "Federal courts are supposed to serve as a backstop, but that stop gap has been removed."