Florida Sets Record for Most Executions in 2025: What’s Behind the State’s Death Penalty Reforms

Florida executed six inmates in 2025, marking the state’s highest annual total for capital punishment in over a decade, according to records from the Florida Department of Corrections. The executions followed a series of legal challenges and legislative changes enacted in recent years that altered the state’s capital sentencing framework, lowering the threshold required for a jury to recommend a death sentence.

Execution Totals and Legal Framework in Florida

The six executions carried out in 2025 represent a significant uptick compared to previous years, matching execution frequencies not seen in the state since 2014, when eight individuals were put to death. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Florida remains one of the few U.S. states actively carrying out capital punishment. The state’s ability to execute inmates at this pace stems partly from a 2023 law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, which allows a jury to recommend the death penalty with an 8-4 vote rather than the historic requirement for unanimous agreement. Only three other states—Alabama, Indiana, and Missouri—allow non-unanimous jury recommendations for capital punishment, according to legal data compiled by Ballotpedia.

Comparative Overview of State Executions

While Florida increased its use of capital punishment in 2025, national execution trends varied widely across the United States. According to the Death Penalty Information Center’s year-end reports, Texas historically leads the nation in total executions, carrying out eight individuals in 2024 and maintaining a steady pace in 2025. Meanwhile, several states with active death penalty statutes, such as Oklahoma and Mississippi, maintained lower or stagnant execution totals due to ongoing pharmacy access hurdles regarding lethal injection drugs and protracted federal court appeals.

• Florida 2025 Total: 6 executions, the highest since 2014.
• Sentencing Rule: Non-unanimous jury verdicts (8-4 threshold) permitted under a 2023 state statute.
• National Context: States like Texas and Florida account for the majority of U.S. executions annually.

Legal Challenges and Defense Appeals

Defense attorneys across Florida challenged the 2025 execution warrants, arguing that the expedited pace violated Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment and raised questions about the mental competency of several death row inmates. According to filings submitted to the Florida Supreme Court, attorneys frequently cited prolonged confinement on death row—often spanning decades—as grounds for stays of execution. However, the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court consistently denied final-hour stays, clearing the way for the Department of Corrections to proceed with the lethal injections at Florida State Prison in Raiford.

State prosecutors defended the timeline, asserting that the executions fulfill long-standing court orders and deliver finality to victims’ families. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office repeatedly argued in court filings that the condemned individuals exhausted all appropriate state and federal appeals over many years, making the execution warrants lawful and necessary.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many inmates were executed in Florida in 2025?

Florida executed six inmates in 2025, according to records maintained by the Florida Department of Corrections.

What is the current jury requirement for a death sentence in Florida?

Under a law enacted in 2023, Florida juries can recommend a death sentence with an 8-4 vote, removing the prior requirement for a unanimous jury recommendation.

Where are executions carried out in Florida?

Executions in Florida take place at Florida State Prison located in Raiford, Florida.