Originally from World Arbitration And Mediation Review (WAMR)

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TEN DOLLARS FOR TWENTY-FOUR

YEARS: PROVIDING JUSTICE FOR
EXONEREES USING VICTIM-OFFENDER
MEDIATION
By Kimberly N. Grant*

Ten dollars for twenty-four years. That is the deal the criminal justice
system of Louisiana handed Michael Williams after he spent twenty-four
years of his life incarcerated for a crime he did not commit.1 Michael
Williams is one of 200 individuals who have been cleared of criminal
charges using DNA evidence incontestably showing that they did not
commit the crimes for which they were charged, tried, convicted, and
imprisoned.2 He is one of possibly thousands who were wrongfully
convicted.3 After twenty-four years, the parting gift that the State bestowed
upon Michael Williams to compensate him for his loss and to help him
reintegrate into society was ten dollars.4

In cases like that of Michael Williams, where it is clear that the
traditional criminal justice system has failed to deliver justice, this paper
asks what role alternative or appropriate dispute resolution (“ADR”)
processes might play in restoring a sense of justice to exonerees5 and to the