Earlier this month, Florida executed Michael Bell for murdering two people in 1993. He was the eighth person put to death there this year.

Bell’s execution would have attracted little attention but for the fact that it was the 26th of this year so far — one more than the total number executed all last year. For death penalty abolitionists, this is a discouraging milestone.

What's more, there are 10 more executions currently scheduled to occur before Dec. 31. That would make 2025 the year with the most executions since 2015, when 28 people were put to death. This year is also on pace to be the fourth in a row in which the number of executions has risen since the low point during the COVID-19 pandemic, when only 11 people were executed.

For the last decade or so, those opposed to capital punishment have been repeating the same mantra as a way to mark the........

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