US Executions in 2025 Could Reach Highest Number Since 2012, Driven by Florida and Other Republican-Led States

Thirty-five men have been executed in the United States so far this year, with one death occurring early Friday and seven more scheduled for execution later this month.

The 2025 execution total has already significantly surpassed last year's count of 25 and may reach the highest level since 2012, when 43 inmates were put to death. However, this remains well below the modern peak of 98 executions recorded in 1999.

Four states—Florida, Texas, Alabama, and South Carolina—are primarily responsible for the increase, accounting for 76% of this year's court-ordered executions.

"This is not an uptick of executions nationally—this is really down to just a few states," explained Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.

Florida has been particularly active, carrying out 13 executions after conducting just one last year. This increase coincides with President Donald Trump encouraging governors to expand death penalty implementation.

"Gov. DeSantis is scheduling all of these executions with complete autonomy and in complete secrecy," Maher noted.

DeSantis' office has not responded to inquiries about the accelerated pace of executions or whether Trump's policies have influenced this trend.

So far this year, executions have been conducted in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

With the exception of Arizona, all these states are governed by Republicans.

The remaining scheduled executions for 2025 include:

In Indiana, Roy Lee Ward, 53, was executed by lethal injection early Friday. He had been convicted of the 2001 rape and murder of 15-year-old Stacy Payne.

Missouri plans to execute Lance C. Shockley, 48, on Tuesday. Shockley was convicted of murdering Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham in 2005, reportedly because Graham was investigating him for involuntary manslaughter.

Florida has two executions scheduled: Samuel Lee Smithers, 72, on Tuesday evening for killing two women in 1996, and Norman Mearle Grim Jr., 65, on October 28 for raping and killing his neighbor in 1998. These would mark Florida's 14th and 15th executions of 2025, extending the state's record for most executions in a single year.

Mississippi is set to execute Charles Ray Crawford, 59, on Wednesday for kidnapping and killing a 20-year-old college student in 1993.

Texas had scheduled Robert Roberson, 58, for execution on October 16 in a controversial case involving shaken baby syndrome, but the state's top criminal court has paused the proceeding. Roberson's attorneys and some medical experts contend his daughter died from pneumonia complications rather than abuse.

Arizona plans to execute Richard Kenneth Djerf, 55, on October 17 for murdering four members of a family in their Phoenix home in 1993.

Alabama has scheduled Anthony Todd Boyd for execution by nitrogen gas on October 23. Boyd was sentenced to death for his role in a 1993 killing but has consistently maintained his innocence.

Tennessee plans to execute Harold Nichols, 64, on December 11 for the 1988 rape and murder of a 21-year-old woman. His previously scheduled execution in 2020 was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.