Will Visiting a Morgue Scare Lindsay Straight?
As part of her plea deal, Lohan will visit a morgue. But do such programs work?
Jan. 22, 2008 — -- Lindsay Lohan will visit the Los Angeles County morgue. No, she's not researching a part in a new teenybopper horror movie, it's part of a court order.
The four-hour visit this summer is part of a plea deal arranged after her second DUI arrest in August.
"We show everyone sent here by the courts slides of accidents and overdoses so they understand the consequences of their actions," said Lt. Fred Corral, an investigator in the coroner's department. "The class ends with a walk through of actual service floors where the autopsies are conducted and they see real bodies. It is a reality check for them."
Lohan has already completed rehab, 80 hours of community service with the American Red Cross and spent 84 minutes in jail — but can spending time in a morgue really scare someone straight?
No, say the experts.
"There is absolutely no evidence that visiting a morgue does anything," said Drew Pinsky, the host of the VH1 show "Celebrity Rehab."
"Losing your freedom, your life or your children, those are real motivators, not visiting a morgue for a few hours," he told ABCNEWS.com.
Lohan's lawyer concedes that most scared-straight programs have been proven not to work, but says the Los Angeles program geared toward individuals age 21 to 25 can teach young people an important lesson.
"Most people under 25 and sentenced on misdemeanor traffic DUI go through the HAM (hospital and morgue) program. It is hard to argue with educating somebody about her own mortality when she's under 25 and thinks she's immortal," said Blair Berk, Lohan's defense attorney.
Berk appeared in court last week to update the judge about her client's progress in fulfilling the terms of the plea bargain.
Addiction experts say there is little evidence to prove that programs geared toward frightening people work to get them off drugs.
"There is no empirical evidence that proves scared-straight programs work," said Lisa Najavits, a professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School
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