Italian Scientists Convicted of Manslaughter Over Earthquake Predictions
- 12 years ago
Earthquake predictions lead to manslaughter conviction for Italian scientists.
In Italy, seven members of the National Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Major Risks have been found guilty of multiple manslaughter in the deaths of 309 people during a 2009 earthquake.
The men are accused of downplaying the possible dangers the earthquake posed and giving "inaccurate, incomplete and contradictory" information to citizens regarding the tremors preceding the actual quake, according to Italian media.
The lawyers plan to appeal the defendant’s sentences in the case.
The scientific community is saying that the ruling in the case may be dangerous.
Malcolm Sperrin, director of medical physics at the UK's Royal Berkshire Hospital told the BBC, "If the scientific community is to be penalised for making predictions that turn out to be incorrect, or for not accurately predicting an event that subsequently occurs, then scientific endeavour will be restricted to certainties only and the benefits that are associated with findings from medicine to physics will be stalled."
Do you think the men should be blamed for the people killed in the earthquake?
In Italy, seven members of the National Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Major Risks have been found guilty of multiple manslaughter in the deaths of 309 people during a 2009 earthquake.
The men are accused of downplaying the possible dangers the earthquake posed and giving "inaccurate, incomplete and contradictory" information to citizens regarding the tremors preceding the actual quake, according to Italian media.
The lawyers plan to appeal the defendant’s sentences in the case.
The scientific community is saying that the ruling in the case may be dangerous.
Malcolm Sperrin, director of medical physics at the UK's Royal Berkshire Hospital told the BBC, "If the scientific community is to be penalised for making predictions that turn out to be incorrect, or for not accurately predicting an event that subsequently occurs, then scientific endeavour will be restricted to certainties only and the benefits that are associated with findings from medicine to physics will be stalled."
Do you think the men should be blamed for the people killed in the earthquake?