North Dakota Mayor Wants To Stage Executions

As we’re being told time and again, 2012 is London’s year. Something to do with this thing called the Olympics apparently. As a result, boosting tourism numbers is something Boris Johnson doesn’t really have to concern himself with.

But if he did, we’d like to point him in the direction of one Doug Ellison, the mayor of Medora, a tiny – population just over 100 – tourist town in the heart of the old Wild West in North Dakota.

Ellison wants to erect a gallows on his property and host mock executions, all in a bid to swell visitors to the town. The dedicated official wants to stage a 20-minute show, which will incorporate a shooting, a trial and the resultant hanging.

Such is his dedication, Ellison has offered to be that first guilty man to have the noose tied around his neck. The town’s Planning and Zoning commission will vote on his proposal next month.

He told the Telegraph: “The matter was not on the agenda and they were a little taken aback. There was about five seconds of stunned silence and at first I think they thought I was joking.’’

“My vision is to stage a shooting, where I'd gun down someone in the street, have a trial and a hanging, all within 20 or so minutes,” he said. “Anything longer than that and the tourists would lose interest.”

Here, here.

Images: Rex Features