US Capital Punishment Cases Surged in the Past Year to Peak in Over a Decade and a Half.

The count of executions in the United States has sharply risen in 2025, reaching a rate not seen in since 2009. This surge is attributed to a focused campaign to reinvigorate the death penalty, coupled with a significant change in the approach of the nation's highest court toward last-minute appeals.

A Sobering Count: 47 Executions in a Single Year

A total of 47 individuals—all of whom were male—were executed by individual states maintaining the death penalty this year. This figure is nearly double the total from 2024, marking the most active period for executions in the country in 16 years.

"The evidence shows that the death penalty in 2025 is increasingly unpopular with the public even as elected officials schedule executions in search of waning political benefits."

A Global Outlier

This pronounced rise further separates the US from most other developed nations, very few of which still carry out executions. Currently, just a handful of Asian nations have conducted capital punishment among peer countries.

A Public Opinion Divide

The comeback of state killings clashes directly with long-term trends and current public sentiment. For years, the use of the death penalty had been in gradual decline. Meanwhile, surveys indicate approval of capital punishment for murder convictions has reached a half-century low, with just over half 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 ensure that laws authorizing 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—the idea is to use harsh measures to solve social problems," remarked a well-known activist against executions.

A Surge in State Executions

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

Alongside Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas, these four states were responsible for almost three-quarters of all deaths this year. Overall, 12 states actively used their execution facilities, up from nine states in 2024.

More Extreme Execution Protocols

As more executions occurred, some states turned to more controversial techniques. Louisiana concluded a 15-year hiatus and followed another state's lead to employ nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method. Witnesses reported the condemned individual visibly shook for several minutes during the procedure.

In another development, a different state performed the first execution by a squad of shooters in the US since 2010, using this method for three of its total executions this year. Accounts suggested that in an instance, imprecise aim may have caused extended agony for the condemned.

A Changed Judicial Landscape

The increase in executions is also linked 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 judicial disengagement.

This marks a change 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. "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."