5 executions in 8 days: Why the death penalty is being used more in the US this year

Thirty-four men have died by court-ordered executions in the U.S. so far this year, and eight others are scheduled to be put to death by year's end, including five in the next eight days. The total for 2025 already far exceeds the number of executions carried out last year — 25 — and could be the highest since 2012, when 43 inmates were put to death, though still far below the modern peak of 98 executions in 1999. The increase in executions is largely being driven by four states — Florida, Texas, Alabama and South Carolina — that have carried out 76% of this year's court-ordered killings.