American Capital Punishment Cases Skyrocketed in the Past Year to Peak in Over a Decade and a Half.

The count of state-sanctioned killings in the US has sharply risen in 2025, hitting a level not seen in 16 years. This surge is linked to a concerted push to revive the death penalty, coupled with a significant change in the stance of the US Supreme Court toward last-minute appeals.

A Sobering Count: 47 Executions in a Single Year

Exactly 47 individuals—all of whom were male—were put to death by individual states that utilize the death penalty this year. This figure represents nearly twice the count from 2024, marking the highest annual total for executions in the United States since 2009.

"The evidence shows that the death penalty in 2025 is growing less popular with the American people even as politicians schedule executions in search of diminishing political benefits."

An International Exception

This sharp increase further separates the United States from nearly all other advanced economies, very few of which continue the practice. In recent years, only Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan have conducted capital punishment among peer countries.

A Public Opinion Divide

The comeback of state killings clashes directly with broader patterns and modern public opinion. For years, the use of the death penalty had been in gradual decline. At the same time, surveys indicate support for capital punishment for murder convictions has fallen to a 50-year low, with just over half of Americans in favor. Most of citizens under the age of 55 now are against it.

Presidential Influence

On his inauguration day back in office, the sitting President issued an executive order titled "Reinstating Capital Punishment." This order sought to ensure that laws authorizing capital punishment were "respected and faithfully implemented," 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 anti-death penalty advocate.

A Surge in State Executions

The national initiative was mirrored and intensified at the level of individual states. Florida became a notable outlier, carrying out 19 executions in 2025—a dramatic increase from just one the previous year. This shattered the state's previous record.

Alongside several other southern states, these a quartet of jurisdictions were the source of almost 75% of all deaths this year. In total, a dozen states actively used their execution facilities, up from nine states in 2024.

More Extreme Execution Protocols

As more executions occurred, some states turned to increasingly extreme techniques. Louisiana concluded a long period without executions and followed another state's lead to use nitrogen gas as an means of execution. Witnesses reported the prisoner visibly shook 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. Accounts suggested that in one case, faulty targeting may have prolonged suffering for the condemned.

A Changed Judicial Landscape

The increase in executions is also connected to the posture of the US Supreme Court. The court's conservative majority rejected all applications to halt 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 innocence claims, rights-based arguments, or charges of excessive cruelty. "We’re now operating without a safety net," noted a law professor. "The judiciary are meant to act as a final check, but that stop gap has been removed."