Medieval

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/earthquake-community-shaken-by-seismologist-manslaughter-conviction/559922

Earthquake Community Shaken By Seismologist Manslaughter Conviction
December 05, 2012

The recent conviction in Italy of seismologists on manslaughter charges, based on their failure to warn residents about a 2009 earthquake, could have serious repercussions for earthquake preparedness, experts say.

“This trial and the verdict represent an extremely worrisome precedent that must be considered by scientists when offering their services in the interests of public safety,” Warner Marzocchi, chief scientist at Italy’s Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology), told IRIN.

In a regional Italian court on October 22, six scientists and a government official were convicted of negligence for underestimating the magnitude of what turned out to be a fatal earthquake. The judgement said the scientists knew the real risk but failed to adequately warn the public.

Found guilty of multiple manslaughter — the first job-related charge of this kind for anyone working in early warning worldwide — they were sentenced to six years imprisonment.