this is a new low for courts
L'AQUILA, Italy (AP) — In a verdict that sent shock waves through the scientific community, an Italian court convicted seven experts of manslaughter on Monday for failing to adequately warn residents of the risk before an earthquake struck central Italy in 2009, killing more than 300 people.
The defendants, all prominent scientists or geological and disaster experts, were sentenced to six years in prison.
Earthquake experts worldwide decried the trial as ridiculous, contending there was no way of knowing that a flurry of tremors would lead to a deadly quake.
"It's a sad day for science," said seismologist Susan Hough, of theU.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena, Calif. "It's unsettling."
That fellow seismic experts in Italy were singled out in the case "hits you in the gut," she said.
http://news.yahoo.com/7-experts-convicted-not-warning-quake-risk-213246589.html
L'AQUILA, Italy (AP) — In a verdict that sent shock waves through the scientific community, an Italian court convicted seven experts of manslaughter on Monday for failing to adequately warn residents of the risk before an earthquake struck central Italy in 2009, killing more than 300 people.
The defendants, all prominent scientists or geological and disaster experts, were sentenced to six years in prison.
Earthquake experts worldwide decried the trial as ridiculous, contending there was no way of knowing that a flurry of tremors would lead to a deadly quake.
"It's a sad day for science," said seismologist Susan Hough, of theU.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena, Calif. "It's unsettling."
That fellow seismic experts in Italy were singled out in the case "hits you in the gut," she said.
http://news.yahoo.com/7-experts-convicted-not-warning-quake-risk-213246589.html