Public trials of government officials accused of mass atrocities can be quite effective in helping countries heal their psychic wounds, University of Iowa Law Professor Mark Osiel argues in a new book that has attracted attention from judges currently investigating war crimes. "Mass Atrocity, Collective Memory, and the Law" (Transaction Publishers, 1997) lays out Osiel's arguments that the law -- and its manifestation in public trials -- can help societies make sense of their with traumatic pasts.