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

The number of executions in the United States has sharply risen in 2025, reaching a level not seen in 16 years. This surge is linked to a focused campaign to reinvigorate the death penalty, combined with a notable shift in the stance of the nation's highest court toward eleventh-hour pleas.

A Grim Tally: 47 Executions in a Single Year

A total of 47 individuals—all of whom were male—were put to death by states maintaining the death penalty in 2025. This figure is nearly twice the count from the previous year, constituting the highest annual total for capital punishment in the country since 2009.

"Data indicates that the death penalty in 2025 is increasingly unpopular with the public even as politicians schedule executions in search of diminishing political benefits."

An International Exception

This sharp increase further isolates the US from nearly all other developed nations, very few of which still carry out executions. In recent years, just a handful of Asian nations have carried out executions among similarly developed states.

Contradictory Trends

The resurgence of executions 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 a steady decrease. Meanwhile, polling indicate approval of capital punishment for those convicted of murder has reached a half-century low, with just over half of respondents in favor. A majority of adults under the age of 55 now oppose it.

Presidential Influence

On his inauguration day back in office, the sitting President issued an executive order titled "Restoring the Death Penalty." This order aimed to guarantee that statutes permitting 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—the idea is to use harsh measures to solve social problems," stated a prominent activist against executions.

A Surge in State Executions

The federal push was mirrored and intensified at the level of individual states. Florida emerged as a notable extreme case, carrying out 19 executions in 2025—a dramatic increase from just one the year before. This broke the state's previous record.

Alongside several other southern states, these four states were responsible for almost three-quarters of all executions this year. In total, 12 states employed their death chambers, up from nine in 2024.

Evolving Methods

As more executions occurred, some states adopted increasingly extreme methods. Louisiana concluded a long period without executions and became the second state to employ nitrogen hypoxia as an means of execution. Witnesses reported the condemned individual convulsed for several minutes during the procedure.

Meanwhile, South Carolina carried out the first execution by a squad of shooters in the US since 2010, using this method for three of its five executions this year. Reports suggested that in one case, imprecise aim may have caused extended agony for the individual.

A Changed Judicial Landscape

The increase in death sentences carried out is also linked to the posture of the nation's highest court. The court's conservative majority denied every request to halt an execution in 2025, a notable demonstration of reluctance to intervene.

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 charges of excessive cruelty. "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."