Will Visiting a Morgue Scare Lindsay Straight?

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

"There is a gap between the criminal justice system and what is known by science about treating addicts."

The only advantage to such programs is that they might encourage people to get real treatment, said Norman Hoffmann, a North Carolina psychologist and consultant who designs tools to assess the efficacy of drug treatment programs.

"The best you can hope for with this [sort] of thing is that it is enough of a wake-up call to get someone to enter rehab," he said.

Prevention efforts have been more wishful thinking than effective policy, Hoffmann said.

Treating addiction, experts told ABCNEWS.com, is a lengthy process that requires intensive therapy.

"The average person arrested for DUI probably had multiple drunk driving episodes before getting caught," Najavits said. "By the time someone has had a DUI, they are likely showing signs of alcoholism."

"In the past 10 years there has been an explosion of scientific research on behavioral treatments," she said. "We know that making people accountable for their actions works better than punishing them. We need to hold people accountable and respect the underlying reasons for why they are dependent on drugs in the first place."

Those interviewed by ABCNEWS.com said they supported the use of specially designated drug courts in some states that mandate treatment and monitor convicts' progress.

Despite what the experts say is a lack of data that proves a visit to the morgue might decrease someone's chances of using drugs or driving drunk, coroner Corral says the program strikes a nerve with many of the young people who visit the morgue.

"At the end of the program you can see it their faces. They understand the reality of their decisions. Some of them are just in shock, many are very quiet. The lesson for many is: This [is] where you end up, no matter how tough you think you are."