Global Executions Surge in 2025; Florida Leads U.S. in Death Penalty

The Rise of Executions: A Global and National Perspective

In a significant surge, executions worldwide have reached their highest point in over four decades, as highlighted by a recent report from Amnesty International. Particularly in the United States, the number of state-sanctioned executions has nearly doubled over the past year.

Amnesty International reports that in 2025, a total of 2,707 individuals faced execution across 17 nations. This figure marks a 78% increase compared to the previous year, when 1,518 executions were documented. The report underlines a significant spike in countries such as Iran, where executions rose to 2,159, more than twice the number recorded in 2024. Amnesty attributes this rise to the Iranian government’s use of capital punishment as a means of state repression, especially following the women’s rights protests that began in 2022.

Countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia have frequently used the death penalty to enforce strict anti-drug laws. Saudi Arabia executed at least 356 individuals in 2025 alone, according to the report. Although Amnesty International’s figures exclude the thousands of executions suspected to have been conducted in China, the country remains the leading enforcer of capital punishment globally.

Execution Trends in the United States

The United States saw a notable increase in executions, with 47 carried out across 11 states in 2025, up from 25 in the previous year. Florida led the nation with 19 executions. This rise is linked to measures taken by the state’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, who has actively promoted the death penalty. In 2023, he enacted a change in the legal process, removing the requirement for unanimous jury recommendations for death sentences.

Justin Mazzola, deputy director for research at Amnesty International, noted the significant role Florida played in the overall increase. “Normally, Florida would only execute anywhere between one to two, sometimes a spike of six in a single year,” he said. “Last year, they executed 19 individuals, so almost one every couple of weeks.”

The Amnesty report emphasizes that the death penalty is perceived as the “ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.” Despite this, the increase in executions in the U.S. goes against a backdrop of declining public support for capital punishment. According to Gallup’s October polling data, only 52% of Americans currently support the death penalty, the lowest level of support since 1972.

Data from the Death Penalty Information Center supports this trend, suggesting a growing reluctance among juries to impose death sentences. Robin Maher, the Center’s executive director, observes that concerns about fairness and the risk of wrongful convictions are influencing this shift. “I think it’s a growing acknowledgment that the death penalty is a failed policy,” Maher says, highlighting its ineffectiveness in deterring crime and ensuring fair punishment.