Executions have risen sharply since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, with 47 carried out last year – the highest annual total since 2009 – and another 28 executed so far in 2026. The increase comes despite a trend of state abolition; only 27 states currently carry out executions, and 11 have dropped the death penalty in the last two decades, most recently New Hampshire, Colorado, Virginia and Washington between 2019 and 2023.
This year, executions have been limited to six states: 15 in Florida, six in Texas, three in Oklahoma, two in Alabama, one in Tennessee and one in Arizona, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Notable recent executions include Melvin Trotter, 65, convicted of a 1986 stabbing; Billy Leon Kearse, 53, convicted of a 1991 officer shooting; and Harold Gene Lucas, 74, convicted of a 1976 murder of a 16‑year‑old. All three were executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison. The most recent execution was Ker’Sean Ramey, 41, in Huntsville, Texas, on September 24, after a 2005 robbery conviction. Christa Pike, 50, is scheduled for execution in Nashville, Tennessee, making her the first woman executed in that state in 206 years.
Trump’s second term has seen a higher execution rate than the four years of the Biden administration, during which the death penalty was carried out 11 times in 2021, 18 in 2022, 24 in 2023 and 25 in 2024. The Biden administration imposed a federal moratorium and commuted 37 of 40 death‑row sentences. Trump has signalled strong support for the penalty, issuing executive orders to help states obtain lethal‑injection drugs and urging the use of capital punishment in various contexts.
Public sentiment appears to align with the president’s stance. A Pew Research Center poll in July found 66 percent of Americans favor capital punishment for convicted murderers, up from 61 percent in April 2021. Sixty‑eight percent view it as morally justified, while only 28 percent disagree. However, 59 percent doubt that the threat of execution deters serious crime. The number of new death sentences remains low, with 23 ordered in 2025, far below the 100‑plus annual sentences of the 2000s and the 325 recorded in 1986.
