Executions scheduled today in the US states of Tennessee, Alabama, and Oklahoma have once again brought the recent surge in capital punishment to the forefront of national discourse. The simultaneous execution of prisoners across three states marks the first such occurrence in the United States since 2010.
According to the Operative Information Center-OMM, citing data from the Death Penalty Information Center, a total of 47 individuals were executed across 11 states in 2025. This figure represents the highest annual total since 2009, a significant increase from the 11 executions recorded in 2021.
A primary driver of this increase has been the surge in executions within Florida, which accounted for approximately 40 percent of the national total in 2025, with 19 individuals executed.
US President Donald Trump, upon taking office in 2025, issued an executive order on his first day directing the Department of Justice to prioritize the application of the death penalty and to take measures toward the restoration of federal executions. By April 2026, the Department of Justice announced that procedures for death sentences had been expedited, previous federal protocols were reinstated, and firing squads were added to the list of execution methods.
However, the rise in executions is not solely attributable to federal policy. Legislation enacted at the state level and decisions by executive authorities are significantly influencing the process. Florida, in particular, has garnered attention for expanding the scope of capital punishment and streamlining the execution process.
Currently, the death penalty remains legal in 27 of the 50 US states. Conversely, several states, including California, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Ohio, have imposed moratoriums on executions through executive action.
Florida's legislative landscape shifted notably in 2023, when a new law removed the requirement for a unanimous jury verdict to impose a death sentence, allowing a minimum of eight jurors to suffice. During that same period, state legislation expanded the application of the death penalty to include certain severe cases of child sexual abuse involving victims under the age of 12.
Despite the rise in the number of executions, long-term trends regarding public sentiment toward capital punishment remain complex. According to 2025 Gallup polling data, 52 percent of Americans support the death penalty, which remains among the lowest levels recorded in nearly five decades.
Furthermore, the number of new death sentences imposed has declined sharply. While US courts issued over 300 death sentences annually during some years in the 1990s, only 23 new death sentences were recorded nationwide in 2025, suggesting a growing preference among juries for life imprisonment over capital punishment.
