The number of executions in the United States nearly doubled in 2025 compared to the previous year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC)'s year-end report. The DPIC, an organization that monitors capital punishment practices, documented an increase in executions while also noting sustained low public support for the death penalty.
National and State Figures
States have conducted 46 executions as of the report's release. With two additional executions scheduled in Georgia and Florida, the projected total for 2025 is 48, marking the highest number in over 15 years.
Florida contributed significantly to this increase, carrying out or scheduling 19 executions, approximately 40% of the national total for the year. This figure establishes a new single-year record for Florida, surpassing its previous high of eight executions in 2014.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated that executions in the state had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and that these issues have since been addressed. He indicated a commitment to ensuring the death penalty is carried out "smoothly and promptly" in response to victims' families, and also expressed the view that it serves as an "appropriate punishment for the worst offenders" and a "strong deterrent" to crime. One individual scheduled for execution in Florida on Thursday is Frank Walls, 58, convicted of murders committed in 1987.
Following Florida, the states with the next highest number of executions were Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas, each with five.
The increase in executions coincides with the second term of President Donald Trump, during which federal executions, paused in 2021 by former President Joe Biden, have resumed.
Concerns Regarding Executed Individuals
The DPIC report highlighted that at least 40 individuals executed or scheduled for execution in 2025 exhibited what the center described as "vulnerabilities." These included conditions such as brain damage, serious mental illness, severe childhood trauma, or an IQ within the range considered intellectually disabled. Robin Maher, executive director of the DPIC, commented that many of these individuals might not be sentenced to death under current legal standards and societal understanding of mental illness and severe trauma.
In 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that the execution of individuals with intellectual disabilities constituted cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment, though states were permitted to establish their own assessment procedures. The Supreme Court is currently reviewing how states should utilize IQ test results in evaluating mental capacity for capital cases.
The report also noted that 10 veterans were executed in 2025, the highest number in nearly two decades, compared to three in the previous year. Attorneys for some veterans, such as Jeffrey Hutchinson who was executed in May, have argued that their clients suffered from conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury resulting from military service, which were reportedly not adequately presented during their trials.
Trends in Death Sentences and Public Opinion
The number of new death sentences issued in 2025 continued a multi-decade downward trend, with 22 new sentences recorded. This figure represents a decrease from 139 new death sentences in 2005. New death sentences were imposed in eight states: Florida, California, Alabama, Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, Missouri, and Pennsylvania.
The report attributes the decrease in new death sentences to several factors, including prosecutors pursuing the death penalty less frequently due to the associated costs and lengthy legal processes, as well as a growing reluctance among jurors to impose capital punishment.
Public support for the death penalty, according to an October Gallup poll, stood at 52% in favor for individuals convicted of murder. This represents the lowest level of support recorded since 1972.