Scientists Found Guilty in Italy Quake Trial

October 22, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

Six Italian scientists and a government official have been found guilty of multiple manslaughter for underestimating the risks of a deadly earthquake in the town of L'Aquila in 2009 that left 309 people dead. Judge Marco Billi on Monday sentenced all seven members of Italy's Major Risks Committee to six years in prison for failing to warn the population of the risks just days before L'Aquila and surrounding towns were hit by the earthquake. The members were also ordered to pay court costs and damages. Claudio Lavanga reports from L'Aquila on a verdict sure to send tremors through the scientific community worldwide

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2009 L'Aquila Earthquake

An earhquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale has occured in the Italian city of L'Aquila, on April 6, 2006 Explore this topic

L'Aquila

L'Aquila is a city and comune in central Italy, both the capital city of the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. As of 2009, it has a population of 73,150 inhabitants, but has a daily presence in the territory of 100,000 people for study, tertiary activities, jobs ... Explore this topic

Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time. Earthquakes are measured ... Explore this topic

Italy

Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Southern Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two larg... Explore this topic

Natural disaster

A natural disaster is a major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth; examples include floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other geologic processes. A natural disaster can cause loss of life or property damage, and typically leaves some ... Explore this topic

Seismology

Seismology is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other planet-like bodies. The field also includes studies of earthquake effects, such as tsunamis as well as diverse seismic sources such as volcanic, tectonic, ... Explore this topic

Trial

In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, which may occur before a judge, jury, or other designated tr... Explore this topic

Manslaughter

Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th century BCE. The definit... Explore this topic

Building collapse

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Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. In an older and closely related meaning, "science" also refers to a body of knowledge itself, of the type that can be rationally expl... Explore this topic

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2009 L'Aquila Earthquake

L'Aquila

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