How Bentley stacks up to famous political mugshots

The virality of former Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley's mugshot underscores our obsession with the downfall of the powerful. Either that, or our fascination with the subtleties of the political mugshot.

Before Bentley's grinning image was released Monday, people clamored for the first photo of the freshly arrested Alabama governor, who pleaded guilty to multiple misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to a 30-day jail term and various fines.

Alabama reporters noted the absence of the mugshot when his booking information first appeared on the Montgomery County Jail's website. Once Bentley's half-smile did come online, it needed no explanation.

The word "creepy" was used on Twitter. Others compared it to the booking photo of Mr. Burns, the villainous character from The Simpsons.

Politicians are used to the grip-and-grin manner of politics and Bentley is not the first to smile in a mugshot. In 2005, former House Majority Leader Tom Delay famously gleamed in his booking photo related to charges he illegally funneled corporate money to GOP candidates running for the Texas state legislature.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry, then the governor of Texas, cracked a smirk when he was booked on felony charges of abuse of power in 2014. Former Sen. John Edwards smiled in his booking photo in 2011, when he was indicted on charges he tried to cover up a marital affair and an out-of-wedlock baby.

However, not all political scandals result in smiles at the county jail. In 2007, then-Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho looked glum after he was caught in an airport bathroom sex sting.

Here are some of the best political mugshots:

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