From 1833 to 1937, execution in America underwent a major transformation from a large public spectacle to a tightly controlled ritual. The concerns for reformers regarding the public execution crowd were the rowdiness, vulnerability, size, and composition of the crowd. There was a range of historical developments that contributed to the demise of the public spectacle, including democratization, cultural changes, and technological/medical advances. It is argued that it is through the eyes of the audience that the execution event and capital punishment itself is evaluated and judged. The audience occupies the center of the 19th century transformation of executions. The audience itself was a major object of manipulation through size, class, and gender; and the driving force for other changes, such as site, method, and procedures. The transformation of executions was neither a passive reaction to a changing world, nor the result of a logical policy response to a uniform set of social pressures. All the changes were evolving responses to different social and political interests. The audience was a focal point of divergent social interests and conflicts throughout the period. The audience served as both a reflection of and a commentary on capital punishment. The audience has emerged in the shape of a foreign body that has penetrated the institution of capital punishment with a set of demands that must be satisfied in order for the death penalty to work. On the other hand, the audience has emerged as the “main aorta” of capital punishment, without which it cannot survive as a public institution. 4 figures, 25 footnotes, 157 references, appendix