He received some compensation prior to the retrial by working as a researcher and investigator for Bain's legal team, where he was paid up to $95 an hour. Karam acknowledges that fighting the case has taken its toll on him over the years. Interviewed in the New Zealand Herald in 2007 under the headline Joe Karam: Freedom Fighter, he said, "For many years, the mainstream media, judiciary, and politicians just thought of me as a raving redneck who'd lost the plot." He said that "every morning for two years, he would wake up, sink to the edge of the bed and cry". When asked what motivated him to keep going, he said it was because of his "innate hatred of unfairness and urge to help those less fortunate". Defamation cases Karam also took legal action to defend himself in pursuit of the case. In addition to being sued for defamation by two police officers, Karam sued TVNZ, North and South Magazine, and the New Zealand Herald. He sued journalist Rosemary McLeod over an article that cast doubt on his motives for supporting Bain. They settled out of court. In 2011 he sued Trade Me for defamation over 349 posts on the website's public message boards about Bain. In 2012, Karam began legal proceedings against Kent Parker and Victor Purkiss for defamation. Parker and Purkiss were opposed to David Bain receiving compensation and made numerous derogatory comments about Karam on a number of websites. Parker admitted the defamation under cross-examination and was ordered to pay $350,500. Purkiss, who made defamatory posts on Facebook and the website Counterspin, was ordered to pay $184,500. The judgement can be found here. Karam was also awarded $64,774 in costs, and $11,350 disbursements. Journalist Jock Anderson said it was unlikely Karam would ever receive any of the money because Purkiss left the country and Parker was bankrupt. Karam also sued Fairfax NZ because articles on stuff drew attention to the defamatory remarks made by Parker and Purkiss, but Fairfax settled out of court. The Innocence Project Karam believes that it took 13 years to get Bain's conviction overturned shows how flawed the New Zealand justice system is. In 2007 he said he planned to set up an organisation similar to the Innocence Project in the US, where those with skills and resources offer their help pro bono, like a support club for single crusaders such as