Fact check: How many executions have taken place in the US

1. Summary of the results

Based on the analyses provided, 1,632 men and women have been executed in the United States since the 1970s ^[1]. This figure represents the total number of executions following the reinstatement of capital punishment after 1976.

For recent execution activity, 24 executions were carried out in 2023, representing a 33% increase from 2022 ^[2]. However, 2025 has shown a significant uptick in execution activity, with 25 executions occurring in the first six months ^[3] and 27 people executed in the first seven months of 2025 ^[4].

Florida has emerged as the leading state for executions in 2025, having carried out 9 executions so far this year ^[4]. The state activity breakdown shows that Florida (7-9 executions), Texas (4 executions), and South Carolina (4 executions) account for approximately 60% of all executions in the first half of 2025 ^[3].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks several important contextual elements:

• Historical trend analysis: The number of executions in the US has been declining over the past two decades ^[2], making the 2025 increase particularly noteworthy
• Geographic concentration: Only 5 states carried out executions in 2023 ^[5], demonstrating that capital punishment is increasingly concentrated in specific jurisdictions
• Future scheduling: There are scheduled executions planned for 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2028 ^[6], indicating ongoing death penalty activity
• Sentencing patterns: Only 7 states imposed new death sentences in 2023 ^[5], showing a disconnect between new sentences and actual executions

Death penalty advocacy organizations and state corrections departments would benefit from different interpretations of these statistics. Abolitionists might emphasize the long-term declining trend, while death penalty supporters could highlight the recent increase in 2025 as evidence of renewed commitment to capital punishment.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question "How many executions have taken place in the US" is overly broad and lacks temporal specificity. This phrasing could lead to several interpretative issues:

• No timeframe specified: The question doesn't clarify whether it seeks historical totals, recent annual figures, or current year statistics
• Missing context about execution trends: Without specifying the time period, the question fails to capture the significant variation in execution rates across different eras
• Potential for selective data presentation: Different stakeholders could answer this question using different timeframes to support their preferred narrative about capital punishment trends

The question's ambiguity allows for cherry-picking statistics that could serve various political or advocacy purposes, whether emphasizing the total historical number ^{[7] [8]} to highlight the scope of capital punishment or focusing on recent increases to suggest renewed support for executions.