US Capital Punishment Cases Skyrocketed in 2025 to Peak in Over a Decade and a Half.

The count of executions in the US has sharply risen in 2025, hitting 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 approach of the US Supreme Court toward eleventh-hour pleas.

A Sobering Count: Nearly 50 Deaths in a Single Year

A total of 47 individuals—each one were male—were executed by states maintaining the death penalty this year. This figure is nearly twice the total from 2024, constituting the most active period for capital punishment in the United States 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 waning political benefits."

An International Exception

This sharp increase further isolates the United States from most other advanced economies, very few of which continue the practice. In recent years, just Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan have carried out executions among peer countries.

Contradictory Trends

The comeback of state killings stands in stark contrast with broader patterns and modern public opinion. Over the past two decades, the use of the death penalty had been in a steady decrease. At the same time, polling indicate approval of capital punishment for murder convictions has fallen to a 50-year low, with just over half of Americans in favor. A majority of citizens under the age of 55 now are against it.

Executive Action Sets the Tone

On his inauguration day back in office, the sitting President issued an executive order titled "Restoring the Death Penalty." This order aimed to ensure that statutes permitting capital punishment were "upheld and properly enforced," marking a clear change 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 prominent activist against executions.

State-Level Frenzy

The federal push was echoed and intensified at the level of individual states. Florida became a particular extreme case, carrying out 19 executions in 2025—a staggering increase from just one the year before. This broke the state's prior annual record.

Alongside Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas, these a quartet of jurisdictions were responsible for almost 75% of all executions this year. In total, a dozen states actively used their death chambers, up from nine states in 2024.

Evolving Methods

As activity increased, some states turned to more controversial methods. Louisiana ended a long period without executions and became the second state to use nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method. Observers reported the condemned individual visibly shook for multiple minutes during the procedure.

Meanwhile, South Carolina performed the first execution by a squad of shooters in the US since 2010, deploying this approach for three of its total executions this year. Accounts suggested that in an instance, faulty targeting may have prolonged suffering for the condemned.

A Changed Judicial Landscape

The increase in death sentences carried out is also connected to the posture 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 represents a shift from the court's traditional function as a last resort for legal challenges based on claims of innocence, constitutional arguments, or allegations of cruel punishment. "We’re now operating without a safety net," commented a legal scholar. "Federal courts are meant to act as a final check, but that stop gap has been removed."