BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: But first "</s>CNN 20": Have a look and a listen here.</s>GREG LEFEVRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's hard not to sympathize with the people of Alaska in a case like this. Prince William Sound is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. The fishery there is abundant or at least it was.</s>JOHN TRACY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today, after nearly five weeks of deliberations, the jury returned a verdict of just over $286 million, less than a third of what the fishermen asked for.</s>BRIAN O'NEILL, FISHERMEN'S ATTORNEY: Number one, what Exxon did was wrong, it was bad, and Exxon is not a socially responsible corporate entity. It isn't. And the second thing is, Exxon has hurt these fishermen to the extent at least of $286 million.</s>LEFEVRE: The verdict in this case amounted to about $28,000 for each fisherman who was affected by the oil spill. The fishermen said it was absolutely too little money. Many of these fishermen lost licenses for hundreds of thousands of dollars. They say they lost fishing boats to bankruptcy, boats worth a million or more dollars. Exxon has contended that it has paid plenty for the oil spill. It says it paid $2 billion for the clean up, and had to pay another $1 billion in federal fines. This $286 million verdict was immediately followed by a $5 billion punitive verdict again Exxon. Now, 11 years after the spill, none of that money has been paid. Exxon continues to appeal the verdict.
CNN 20: Jury Awards Alaskan Fisherman $286M, August 11, 1994