Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sparked outrage this week after making what many are calling a disturbing social media boast about his state’s record number of executions. On Tuesday evening, DeSantis took to his X account to post a flurry of political remarks, attacking “the Marxist agenda” of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and criticizing Wikipedia as a “dumpster fire.”
But it was his response to a supporter that drew the most attention. When a Florida Republican urged him to “clear out death row,” claiming the state was “barely” executing anyone, DeSantis replied by sharing a news article from October 13. The article highlighted that Florida had already executed a “record” 13 inmates in 2025—more than any other state in the country.
Previously, the most executions carried out in a single year in Florida was eight, set in 2014. Only one person was executed last year. Since that October report, another inmate has been executed, bringing the total to 14, with a 15th execution scheduled next week.
Florida currently allows inmates to choose between lethal injection and electrocution. DeSantis, who took office in 2019, has long been a vocal supporter of capital punishment. However, his aggressive stance has drawn widespread criticism, particularly after it was revealed that several of those executed were U.S. military veterans.
The governor, a former Navy officer, once called Florida “the most veteran-friendly state,” yet five veterans have been executed under his administration. Despite public backlash, DeSantis’ communications director, Alex Lanfranconi, defended the governor’s position in a statement to The Daily Beast, saying, “A simple trick to avoid execution in Florida is to not murder people.”
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Florida currently has 273 people on death row, including one woman. Although the state makes up just under six percent of the U.S. population, it accounts for about 14 percent of the nation’s death row inmates.
Florida reinstated the death penalty in 1979, becoming the first state to do so after the Supreme Court’s 1972 moratorium. Since 1924, a total of 315 people have been executed in the state. In 2023, DeSantis signed a law lowering the jury threshold for death sentences. Instead of requiring a unanimous decision, only an eight-juror majority is now needed—making Florida the state with the lowest standard for imposing the death penalty.
That same year, DeSantis expanded capital punishment to include sexual battery cases involving minors under 12. More recently, he signed HB 903, a bill that critics say could allow the state to test new execution methods such as hanging, firing squads, nitrogen hypoxia, or even beheading.
A Gallup poll from last year found that only 53 percent of Americans still support the death penalty for convicted murderers, signaling that public opinion may be shifting away from the policy DeSantis so proudly defends.