The United States has witnessed a dramatic and unsettling spike in executions in 2025, reaching a level not seen in more than a decade. According to NPR, 44 death row inmates have been executed across the country this year, a significant jump from the 25 executions recorded in 2024. This sharp increase has alarmed opponents of the death penalty and reignited debates about the future of capital punishment in America, especially as public opinion continues to trend against executions.
What’s behind this sudden rise? Experts and advocates point to one state as the primary driver: Florida. As reported by NPR and the Gulf States Newsroom, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis personally scheduled a record 17 executions in his state in 2025, the most by any governor in recent memory. Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, told NPR, "The only reason there's an increase in this year's total number compared to other years is because Governor DeSantis personally scheduled a record number of executions in Florida."
Governor DeSantis, addressing questions at a November press conference, attributed the surge in executions to a backlog created by the COVID-19 pandemic. "Early on in his term, COVID, quote, 'threw a wrench into our corrections,'" NPR reported, citing the governor’s remarks. DeSantis explained that he is now responding to families of victims whose cases have languished for years. He echoed a familiar refrain: "And it's like, you know, there's a saying, justice delayed is justice denied."
But not everyone accepts the governor’s narrative. Grace Hanna, executive director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, emphasized that not all victims’ families support executions. "The narrative about families of the victims doesn't always check out, noting there are victim family members who oppose executions," she told NPR. Hanna described a climate of fear on Florida’s death row: "I think the men are scared. They talk about when, you know, they hear the doors on their wing open, and they see the guards walk in or the warden walk in, they kind of wonder whose cell they are going to stop at that day."
While Florida stands out, a handful of other states were also responsible for much of the activity on death row this year. Executions in 2025 were largely concentrated in just four states: Texas, South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida. This regional clustering is not new, but the methods employed by some states have drawn additional scrutiny and controversy.
With lethal injection drugs increasingly difficult to obtain, states have experimented with alternative—and often contentious—methods. Alabama continued to use the controversial nitrogen gas method for executions, a practice that has sparked debate among legal experts and human rights advocates. Louisiana, for the first time, carried out an execution using nitrogen gas in 2025. South Carolina, meanwhile, executed several inmates by firing squad, a method that many thought belonged to a bygone era.
The limited scope and unconventional methods highlight the peculiar landscape of capital punishment in the United States today. Despite the spike in executions, the overall use of the death penalty remains concentrated and, by historical standards, relatively rare. The current surge, experts say, is unlikely to reverse a long-term decline. Robin Maher of the Death Penalty Information Center noted, "She doesn't expect a single unusual year like this one to change the general downward trajectory of capital punishment since around the year 2000." Surveys continue to show that American support for the death penalty has been declining for decades.
Political dynamics remain a significant wildcard in the future of the death penalty. The Trump administration has been vocal in its support for capital punishment, while President Biden has expressed opposition. These shifting positions at the federal level can influence state policies, public sentiment, and even the pace of executions. As Maher observed, "Politics is a wildcard here."
Another notable trend is the changing role of the U.S. Supreme Court. In recent years, the Court has intervened less frequently in death penalty cases. This shift has removed a layer of oversight that once served as a check on the system, according to experts interviewed by NPR. The reduced judicial scrutiny means that states have greater latitude in carrying out executions, for better or worse.
For opponents of the death penalty, the events of 2025 are a stark reminder of the work that remains. They argue that the increase in executions runs counter to both public opinion and the values of a modern justice system. Many advocates point to the risk of wrongful convictions, the high cost of death penalty cases, and the lack of evidence that executions deter crime as reasons to continue pushing for abolition.
On the other side, supporters of capital punishment—including some state officials and victims’ families—insist that executions are necessary to deliver justice and closure for heinous crimes. They argue that the delays caused by appeals and legal challenges deny victims their day of justice. Governor DeSantis’s actions in Florida reflect this perspective, as he has made clear his commitment to carrying out sentences imposed by the courts.
The debate is further complicated by the evolving landscape of execution methods. The use of nitrogen gas and firing squads has sparked fresh legal challenges and ethical questions. Critics argue that these methods are inhumane or experimental, while proponents claim they are necessary responses to the practical difficulties of obtaining lethal injection drugs.
Looking ahead, experts are cautious about predicting whether 2025 marks the start of a new trend or a one-off anomaly. The consensus, however, is that the long-term trajectory remains downward. The number of executions has declined steadily since the early 2000s, and public support continues to erode. Yet, as this year has shown, political decisions and state-level initiatives can still produce dramatic shifts, at least in the short term.
As the nation grapples with the complex realities of capital punishment, the story of 2025 will likely serve as both a warning and a catalyst for renewed debate. Whether the spike in executions will prompt meaningful change or simply fade as an outlier remains to be seen. For now, the issue remains as contentious and unresolved as ever, with lives—and principles—hanging in the balance.
