Anyone else ever wondered this? Here in the USA we haven’t had a public execution since 1936. States have very strict rules about who’s allowed to witness an execution (lawyers, family of the victim, family of the condemed, journalists, etc). And I imagine the observation rooms can only seat so many people. So what if a cashstrapped state decided to try and raise funds by selling seats? I imagine it wouldn’t raise all that much money (especially outside of Texas), but has anyone ever done any studies to see how much money the general public would pay to watch an execution? Or if not in person on PPV (any legal issues with that)?
I imagine it would raise enough money to fix the deficits of several states. You really think people would not pay to see this? After the success of reality TV? I think they would be coming in droves. Not that it is a good idea on almost any level, but I wager they could fill stadiums.
Well it depends. Are you willing to dress it up a little? Have an MC tell a few jokes during the intro, have guys selling hot dogs and soft drinks, maybe a raffle, a souvenir stand - the whole carnival atmospere.
Also people like to get value for money. Wheeling out a guy strapped to a guernsey and attached to a bunch of tubes, then having another guy flip a switch, waiting five minutes and then saying “Yup, he’s dead” - that’s not very entertaing.
Drawing and quartering on the other hand…
I read an article in the Washington Post years ago about executions in Virginia. After Texas, VA leads the US in executions. They have witnesses at them, mostly family members of both the victim and the condemned and journalists, law enforement, DAs, etc. But there are a number of open seats for the public.
Basically, there is a small group of people who attend these executions as pretty much a pastime. Here is the article, but might require registration
Here’s another item about public witnessing, which is a legal requirement in sixteen states.
Fifty-fifty (some tubes placebos, others the real thing), Ask the Audience (that would be a real draw), Phone a Friend (of course the family, friends, the lawyer, but also - the governor, now that would be a real game!) And then you’ve got the hot seat and the catch phrase, “final answer”.
They could certainly make the game of Hangman more entertaining. We’re just a few short years from having The Running Man (both the book and movie versions) come to fruition.
One of the ringside “execution girls” walk around in a small bikini with a sign that it’s the first execution of the evening.
Announcer: And standing in this corner with the record of three murders, one attempted murder, and one arrest, it’s the executeree. Give a big welcome to Jooooooooooooooooooooooooooohn “the Kniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife” Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeendoooooooooooooooooooooooooooozaaaaaaaaaaa! Tonight’s execution brought to you by Bob’s knives. When you wanna stab someone, think Bob’s.
Judge: I want a fair execution now, you hear?
Maybe you could charge more/less, depending on the criminal? I mean, you’re probably going to get less draw for the guy who killed someone in a botched robbery than you would for the Acid Skull Maniac™ who murdered a hundred people.
Band name!
Aw, you trademarked it. 
I can already see Facebook pages dedicated to raise enough money so family members of a victim can afford the proposed price set by an execution ticket scalper. Ugh.
But as others have pointed out, depends on who’s veins they’re going to pollute. I’m really not into the death penalty, but if Charles Manson ever got reinstated to have that done to him, you’re talking over a million bucks, man.
People like Gacy, Bundy-- there would’ve been a record breaking charity auction to grab a SRO place. Perhaps even Jared Loughner could draw a decent price, but not from the Teabaggers, of course.
Depends entirely on who is being executed. There are at least two people from my past that I would pay as much as I could raise to witness their executions; I’d pay even more to be allowed to participate. The foregoing presupposes legality of said executions/participation.
If it weren’t a personal issue with me, I wouldn’t pay a dime.
I wasn’t all that keen on being executed in the first place - if you’re saying I’ll now have to queue up for tickets to get it done, I’ll probably just not bother.
The only problem I could foresee is if the executions became too popular. A state is trying to get their budget balanced and they run out of gallows fodder, then what? Death penalty for traffic violations?
I see what you did there.
My apologies for reviving a zombie thread but a search for an unrelated topic revealed this gem from 2011:
I would pay big money to see this.
The Execution Will Not Be Televised.
I always like to call them that, and always get the image.
That works too.
If I was the executee I would pay as much as I could to watch the execution from a safe distance, even or particularly if this made it the most boring and uneventful execution ever.