Vintage Criminal Mugshots

Despite the oft-repeated mantra of America’s criminal-justice system—that one is innocent until proven guilty—mugshots suggest otherwise. Although these images simply document an arrest, for more than a century, the ubiquity of such photos in news coverage and entertainment media has implied guilt, deviance, and bad behavior. The subjects captured in vintage mugshots may have been brought in under bogus charges by corrupt officers, or arrested for crimes no longer considered criminal, like adultery, begging, or expressing communist beliefs. But mugshots often outlive the truth.