"The increase in the US is all the more pronounced given the gradual decline in capital punishment that had been the prevailing wind in the US for most of the past two decades. It stands starkly discordant with the trend in public opinion. Gallup, which has been taking the pulse of the American public's views on the death penalty since 1937, found that this year 52% supported it for people convicted of murder a 50-year low. Most Americans under 55 now oppose the practice."
"The Death Penalty Information Center which produces the most comprehensive annual review said that the contradictory trends indicate the growing disconnect between what elected officials do and what the public wants. The evidence shows that the death penalty in 2025 is increasingly unpopular with the American people even as elected officials schedule executions in search of diminishing political benefits. The most prominent of those elected officials is the US president himself."
Executions in the US rose sharply in 2025 to the highest level in 16 years, with 47 men executed by state authorities, almost double the number in 2024 and the largest surge since 2009. The rise further separates the US from most developed countries, with only Japan, Singapore and Taiwan carrying out recent executions. The increase contrasts with a long-term decline in capital punishment and falling public support: Gallup found 52% approval for murder convictions, a 50-year low, and opposition among most under-55s. The Death Penalty Information Center finds a growing disconnect between elected officials and public sentiment, while presidential actions revived federal death penalty policy.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]