Come along for walk on wrong side of law
Crime & Punishment--Museum is chock full of both
BY EDIE GROSS
Date published: 5/23/2008
BY EDIE GROSS
WASHINGTON--Thousands of men dreamed of escaping, but John Morgan just wanted to get in.
His visit to Alcatraz five years ago almost ended at the front gate.
"I actually just walked up to buy a ticket, and he said, 'I'm sorry, you can't come today. We're sold out for eight days.' I said, 'This is unbelievable,'" said Morgan, who tipped the doorman a few hundred bucks to gain same-day access to the former federal penitentiary.
The Orlando businessman says that visit to the "eerie" California prison inspired him to create Washington's newest attraction, the National Museum of Crime & Punishment.
The museum, which opens today, is heavy on both perpetrators and the prices they paid.
Pirates, Wild West outlaws, mobsters, serial killers, presidential assassins, art thieves and computer hackers all take center stage in the 28,000-square-foot attraction near the Verizon Center.
So, too, does the justice meted out.
"Old Smokey," a Tennessee electric chair that executed 125 people between 1916 and 1960, shares a corner with a gas chamber from Oregon.
Tales and photos of firing squads and hangings abound, as do more antique tools of the trade: the guillotine, Venetian finger screws and a pair of 15th-century tongs used literally for ripping flesh from the bodies of evil-doers.
Many of the more infamous criminals featured in the museum never even entered the legal system, perishing instead in a hail of gunfire before they could be arrested.
The museum isn't trying to glorify their crimes, Morgan said, but rather lay bare the ugly truth of what happens to those who get caught.
"Our message is these people are not good people, not nice people," said Morgan. "They're people who had consequences for their actions."
Morgan partnered with John Walsh, host of "America's Most Wanted," which houses its studios in the museum.
In addition to watching live tapings of the show, visitors can spend three to four hours winding through the museum's rooms, from medieval torture chambers and Western shooting galleries to a crime lab and morgue.
And don't forget the gift shop, stocked with handcuff earrings, yellow crime scene tape and even fuzzy teddy bears in orange prison jumpsuits.
"You could've done a museum just on the mob, or just on CSI. So what we tried to do was take the high points of each section and reduce it to that," Morgan said. "The biggest challenge was not what to put in, but what to leave out."
Edie Gross: 540/374-5428
Email: egross@freelancestar.com
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IF YOU GO
The National Museum of Crime & Punishment opens today at Seventh and F streets (575 7th St.) in Washington, D.C.
Law enforcement officers get in free today, and others pay half price. Regular ticket prices are $17.95 for visitors 12 to 59 and $14.95 for seniors, retired and active-duty military, retired and active-duty police officers, and children ages 5 to 11. Children under 5 are free.
The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. March through August and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. September through February.
: crimemuseum.org
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| MORBID CURIOSITY
When Bonnie Parker wasn't riding shotgun with trigger-happy boyfriend Clyde Barrow, she was writing poetry. One of her creations, "The Ballad of Donnabell Lee," is on display at the museum.
Other morbid mementos:
The knife in Billy the Kid's hand when he was shot to death by a New Mexico sheriff
Bank robber John Dillinger's bullet-proof 1933 Ford Essex as well as an eyebrow hair plucked from his death mask
A birthday card sent by David Berkowitz, better known as "Son of Sam"
SHOOT 'EM UPS
The bullet-riddled 1934 Ford that Bonnie and Clyde died in is displayed at the Primm Valley Resort and Casino in Nevada.
But the Museum of Crime & Punishment features the replica used in the 1967 film. On loan from the Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum in Louisiana, it's got just as many bullet holes as the real thing: 167.
Other nods to pop culture include:
"Scarface" machine gun
Clips from cop flicks like "Robocop," "Fargo" and "The French Connection"
A wall of law enforcement-related TV shows like "Miami Vice" and "Charlie's Angels"
UGLY MUGS
Blame it on his blue eyes. They're likely responsible for Frank Sinatra's 1938 arrest on charges of "carrying on with a married woman" in Bergen County, N.J. The charges were later dismissed, but he left behind a handsome mug shot.
The owners of other famous mugs on display include:
Bill Gates, who allegedly ran a stop sign in Albuquerque, N.M., in 1977 and did so without a license
Nick Nolte, whose 2002 DUI-related mug shot, complete with wild Hawaiian shirt and even wilder hair, became an instant classic
Mel Gibson, who turned in a critically acclaimed performance as a sexist anti-Semite after being pulled over for DUI in 2006
MADE IN PRISON
Prisoners are nothing if not handy. A little floss and a safety razor and you've got yourself a right fine shank--or in the case of the museum, a display case full of them.
The contraband includes pistols made of toilet paper and scrap metal, miniature spears and a homemade tattoo gun.
On the artsy side, the museum also features less-lethal crafts made by inmates, like soap sculptures.
LONG ARM OF LAW
The law isn't much without those who enforce it. The museum pays tribute to some of the most famous lawmen and women in U.S. history, including:
Allan Pinkerton, created first U.S. detective agency
Frank Serpico, a New York City police officer who exposed departmental corruption in the '70s and was immortalized by Al Pacino in the film "Serpico"
Alice Stebbins Wells, who in 1910 joined the Los Angeles Police Department, becoming the country's first female police officer with arrest powers
The museum also features a kiosk listing every American police officer killed in the line of duty, including at least eight from the Fredericksburg region.
THEN AND NOW
In the old days, if you didn't willingly pose for your mug shot, lawmen were apt to take your chin in one hand and your forehead in the other and pose your face for you. The museum features photos of officers doing just that--and those being mug-shot look none too happy about it either.
Visitors learn plenty about law enforcement's past: the history of mug shots and fingerprinting techniques, horse-drawn paddy wagons and the advent of forensics.
They also get a run-down on modern policing: DNA analysis, identity-theft prevention, safe bomb removal and drug-sniffing dogs.
DO IT YOURSELF
So you think you're ready to join the force? Not so fast, rookie. Try your hand at a few of the museum's interactive tools before rushing off to the academy:
At the OK Corral shooting gallery, take aim at bottles, barrels and the like in a carnival-type atmosphere.
On the simulated FBI shooting range, decide whether to pull the trigger when the SWAT team kicks in doors.
Pursue suspects in all kinds of weather with the high-speed chase simulator. (As an aside, the three-sided screen can cause motion sickness, which might be why even very good drivers occasionally rear-end other cars.)
As part of the bomb squad, remotely maneuver a robot so it removes a bomb from a truck and carries it to a detonation site. If you are successful, the city throws a parade in your honor. If you're not, well, we won't go there.
If the criminal element is more your speed, have your mug shot and fingerprints taken at the museum. Body cavity searches are not available. |
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Date published: 5/23/2008
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