Unprecedented Pace of Executions in Florida Drives America to Highest Death Penalty Total in 15 Years

America has carried out nearly double the number of executions in 2025 compared to the previous year, fueled largely by Florida’s unprecedented pace of putting prisoners to death.A pair of executions this week in Georgia and Florida respectively will bring the total for this year to 48, the highest number in more than 15 years. A total of 40 percent of the executions thus far were carried out in the Sunshine State, according to a report from the Death Penalty Information Center.Their findings also show that public support for the death penalty remains low even as the executions have ticked upward.“These trends show there is a real disconnect between what the American public wants and what elected officials are doing with the death penalty,” DPI executive director Robin Maher said to NPR.With 18 people put to death, Florida surpassed its previous single-year execution record this year, eclipsing the eight executions carried out in 2014.Speaking at a November press conference, Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, attributed earlier delays to the Covid-19 pandemic, which he says have now been addressed. He told reporters he owed it to victims’ families to ensure the death penalty is carried out “smoothly and promptly.”“We’ve heard from a lot of the family members of the victims over the years and if you think about it, some of these crimes were committed in the ’80s and they wait and there’s appeal and this and that,” he said. “There’s a saying — justice delayed is justice denied.”Florida is set to carry out its 19th execution of the year on Thursday when Frank Walls, 58, is scheduled to die for the 1987 murders of Edward Alger and Ann Peterson during a home invasion robbery. Walls subsequently admitted to three additional killings.Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas tied for the second-most executions, carrying out five each.The DPI report also notes that at least 40 prisoners on death row that have been or will be executed have “vulnerabilities” like brain damage or mental illness.“Many would not or could not be sentenced to death today because of changes in the law and society’s understanding of the effects of mental illness and severe trauma,” Ms. Maher said to NPR.The report also uncovered that ten veterans were executed in 2025 — the highest total in nearly 20 years. Only three were put to death in 2024.Ms. Maher said many veterans on death row received death sentences from juries that lacked adequate information about the physical or psychological trauma they sustained during military service.“The vulnerabilities and the difficulties they experienced as a result of their military service were not properly presented to juries.”

Unprecedented Pace of Executions in Florida Drives America to Highest Death Penalty Total in 15 Years

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