U.S. executions surged to 48 in 2025, led by Florida, but new death sentences fell and public support hit a 50-year low of 52%, signaling hope for abolition advocates.
Newsroom (29/12/2025 Gaudium Press ) The United States witnessed a sharp increase in executions in 2025, even as public opinion continued to shift against the death penalty, providing a glimmer of hope for opponents of capital punishment heading into the new year.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), a nonprofit organization that tracks capital punishment in the U.S., 48 prisoners were executed nationwide in 2025 — nearly double the 25 carried out the previous year.
This near-100% rise was largely attributable to Florida, which conducted 19 executions, accounting for roughly 40% of the national total.
The year also marked the expanded use of controversial execution methods. Alabama and Louisiana each carried out two executions using nitrogen gas, a technique criticized by advocates for potentially causing prolonged and painful deaths. In one Alabama case, condemned prisoner Anthony Boyd reportedly took approximately 20 minutes to die.
South Carolina resumed the use of firing squads after a 15-year hiatus in the U.S., executing two inmates with the method. Attorneys claimed one of those executions was botched, resulting in unnecessary suffering for the condemned.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied every request to stay an execution in 2025, the DPIC reported, while several states enacted legislation to expand eligibility for the death penalty or bolster its application.
Despite the uptick in executions, indicators pointed to growing opposition among Americans. New death sentences declined slightly to 22 from 24 the prior year, with only 14 juries nationwide issuing unanimous verdicts for death. This modest drop aligns with a long-term downward trend, contrasting sharply with the peak of 325 death sentences imposed in 1986.
A Gallup poll conducted in 2025 recorded public support for the death penalty at a 50-year low of 52%, while opposition reached 44% — the highest since 1966. A majority of Americans under age 55 now oppose capital punishment.
These shifts occur in a nation that, in 2023, ranked third globally among countries publicly reporting executions, behind leaders like China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Many U.S. geopolitical allies, including nearly all of Western Europe, have abolished the practice entirely. A near-majority of U.S. states also prohibit executions, which may contribute to eroding public backing.
Notably, however, Catholic voters bucked the broader trend. A November poll by EWTN News and RealClear Opinion Research found that a majority of U.S. Catholic voters support the death penalty.
Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of the Catholic Mobilizing Network, an anti-death-penalty organization, described 2025 as a “tough year” for advocates seeking abolition.
The year began on a promising note, she told Catholic News Agency, with former President Joe Biden’s commutation of 37 federal death row sentences in December 2024, coinciding with the start of the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year, which emphasized mercy and life.
Yet executions proceeded “at breakneck speed,” Murphy said, attributing part of the momentum to the incoming Trump administration’s early rhetoric on capital punishment, which she argued provided “political cover” to state officials despite limited federal action.
Florida, in particular, bore the “lion’s share” of executions, leaving bishops in the state “stumped” and troubled, according to Murphy, who noted consultations with nearly every Catholic bishop there. Florida bishops routinely petition for commutations, but the last executive clemency in the state dates to 1983, per DPIC records.
Executive clemency remains rare nationally, though notable instances include Biden’s mass action and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s commutation of 15 cases in late 2024.
Amid the grim statistics, Murphy identified “encouraging signs.” The Jubilee Year served as a reminder of the “sanctity of life,” exposing what she called “vengeance’s empty promises.”
Current executions, she observed, often stem from sentences imposed 25 to 30 years ago, reflecting outdated standards. With new death sentences at historic lows, advocates eye continued progress in 2026.
The Catholic Mobilizing Network recently joined a coalition of over 50 organizations pushing for nationwide abolition. Efforts typically proceed state by state, with promising developments in places like Ohio and Oklahoma.
A key focus, Murphy said, is engaging younger generations, who lack the “baggage” of older cohorts on the issue and embrace a “consistent life ethic.” Bringing exonerees and families of murder victims to campuses helps mobilize youth, whom she called some of the movement’s “best advocates.”
The Catholic Church’s stance evolved significantly in 2018, when the Catechism was updated under Pope Francis to declare the death penalty “inadmissible,” committing the Church to its global abolition. Pope Francis frequently condemned the practice, and his successor, Pope Leo XIV, has echoed opposition, stating in September that supporting capital punishment is “not really pro-life” — a comment that stirred debate but aligned with Church teaching.
In August, the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops called for a novena praying for an end to the state’s death penalty.
Murphy acknowledged that the 2018 Catechism change “threw some people,” but saw opportunities for catechesis on reconciliation and restoration in “Jesus’ way.” She emphasized the need for communal discernment to align Catholic practice with teaching.
As 2025 closes, the contrasting trends — rising executions against falling sentences and support — underscore a deepening divide between policy and public sentiment, fueling cautious optimism among those working to end capital punishment in America.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
Related Images:
