Crime and punishment

The National Museum of Crime and Punishment opened today in Washington D.C., with exhibits such as virtual firearms testing, the car from the “Bonnie and Clyde” movie, a replica of Al Capone’s jail cell, a model crime lab, and the America’s Most Wanted television studio. America’s Most Wanted Host John Walsh said he hopes visitors to the museum see that there are consequences to crime, and that the “criminal and thug life isn’t glamorous”. He said the museum is a lot of fun, but also allows children to get fingerprinted and learn about safety.

Walsh said this is the first permanent home of America’s Most Wanted, which has been on for 20 years and caught over one thousand fugitives. He said people want to know more about crime, be more aware, and be able to help the law enforcement, and that the show proves to him that people can make difference.

Walsh said his favorite part of the museum is the crime scene investigation (CSI) lab, because he is a believer that “the country should spend more money on testing DNA and rape kits for women and children.” He said technology and CSI labs are the wave of the future, and that DNA is the fingerprint of the 21st century. He urged people to get involved in the process, and to talk to their representatives about getting funding for the Adam Walsh Act, which is a piece of bipartisan legislation to create a national sex offenders registry.