restitution

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It's an Unprecedented Art Restitution Deal

2 stoneware jars made by David Drake are returned to his family 175 years later

(Newser) - Inside the wide mouth of a stoneware jar, Daisy Whitner's fingertips found a slight rise in the clay—a mark she hoped was a trace left behind by her ancestor, an enslaved potter who shaped the vessel nearly 175 years ago in South Carolina. Standing in the gallery of...

Vatican Agrees to Return Indigenous Peoples' Artifacts

Groups made the request of Pope Francis during his 2022 visit to Canada

(Newser) - The Vatican returned 62 Indigenous artifacts to Canada on Saturday, including items such as an Inuit kayak, wampum belts, war clubs, and masks—many of which had been in Vatican museums for over a century. The artifacts were handed over to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, which plans to...

Idaho Killer Ordered to Pay for Victims' Urns

Judge says funeral costs are part of killer's restitution

(Newser) - Bryan Kohberger, the man convicted of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, has been ordered to pay for the urns of two of his victims as part of his restitution. A judge issued the ruling on Thursday, the third anniversary of killings, saying Kohberger is financially responsible for...

Judge Orders First Refund for Pardoned Capitol Rioter

He says government has no right to keep $2K in restitution paid by Yvonne St. Cyr

(Newser) - A federal judge has granted a refund of more than $2,200 to a Capitol rioter whose conviction was wiped away by a presidential pardon—marking the first time a Jan. 6 defendant has recouped fines after President Trump's blanket pardon. US District Judge John Bates, who presided...

They Lived in Squalor, Will Get Every Penny of Rent Back

DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb secures $6.8M judgment

(Newser) - Nearly 100 tenants of nine DC apartment buildings will get their rent refunded in full due to the squalor they were forced to live in. The Washington Post reports a DC landlord has been ordered to pay $6.8 million in restitution and penalties for the hazardous and illegal...

Belgium Steps Closer to Returning Colonial-Era Remains

Critics, however, say law draft didn't include input from countries of origin

(Newser) - More than 500 sets of human remains taken from ex-Belgian colonies are currently housed at the Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels, including the skull of 19th-century Congolese leader Lusinga Iwa Ng'ombe, who was decapitated in a battle with Belgian troops in 1884. Now, draft legislation is vying to...

She Burned Abortion Clinic, Must Pay $298K

Lorna Roxanne Green also will serve 5 years in prison for setting fire to Wyoming's only full-service clinic

(Newser) - A judge has ordered a woman who set fire to Wyoming's only full-service abortion clinic to pay nearly $300,000 in restitution, the full amount sought by prosecutors. Lorna Green is serving five years in prison for burning Wellspring Health Access weeks before the clinic was set to open...

Lost Hiker's Signal Fires Prove Costly

Philip Powers III faulted for 'reckless' actions that may have ultimately saved his life

(Newser) - Three signal fires set by a lost hiker who'd run out of food and water in Arizona helped ensure his rescue—and possibly his ruin. Philip Powers III has been ordered to pay nearly $300,000 for the emergency fires, one of which erupted into a 230-acre forest fire,...

Fenn Treasure Hunter Must Pay for His Rescue

Appeals court pans Mark Lantis' ill-advised 2018 hunt in Yellowstone

(Newser) - A man who went in search of Forrest Fenn's famous treasure not only failed to find it but will now have to pay nearly $3,000—the cost of his airlift out of Yellowstone National Park. Wyoming's Mark Lantis—one of thousands enthralled by Fenn's hidden chest,...

Teen Accidentally Starts Fire, Now Owes $36,631,687.10

Judge rejects 'cruel and unusual' argument from attorney over Eagle Creek fire in Oregon

(Newser) - Last September, a 15-year-old tossed fireworks on a hot day in the forest and inadvertently set off a massive wildfire that burned 48,000 acres in Oregon. Now he's learned the price he must pay, and it's incredible: a grand total of $36,631,687.10 to various...

Courts Mull Restitution for Victims of Child Porn

Some argue that monetary damages are civil, not criminal matter

(Newser) - The latest conundrum in child pornography law is restitution, as courts try to nail down whether simply possessing offending images constitutes harm to the victim—and how much that damage is worth. A year ago, a man in possession of 10-year-old pictures of “Amy” was ordered to pay her...

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