Lohan to visit morgue as punishment

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Lindsay Lohan is about to see dead people.

In June, the 21-year-old actress will visit a morgue as part of her punishment for misdemeanor drunken driving.

"She's gonna see bodies. We'll have anywhere from 20 to 25 people in the class and she's treated like any other individual," Los Angeles County Coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter said Friday.

Lohan's attorney, Blair Berk, appeared at a hearing Thursday to report to a judge on Lohan's progress toward fulfilling the terms of her plea bargain. The actress was not required to appear.

Lohan has completed her rehabilitation and served 80 hours of community service with the American Red Cross, Berk said Friday.

Lohan was arrested twice last year on DUI charges and pleaded guilty in August to misdemeanor drunken driving and cocaine charges. She served 84 minutes in jail as part of the plea deal.

A program to show drivers the real-life consequences of drinking and driving requires offenders to spend four hours at the morgue and four hours at a hospital emergency room. Lohan spent the required time in the hospital in December, Berk said.

The morgue visits "include a walk-through of the service floor where autopsies are taking place along with the processing of the deceased. They also wind up seeing deceased people in our crypt," Winter said.

The coroner's office conducts 20 to 30 autopsies a day. What they see is "whatever's going on at the time, whether it be a victim of a homicide or suicide, a traffic accident or a natural death with no doctor," Winter said. "It's to show 'em what reality is."