On October 22nd, an ex-government official and six Italian scientists were sentenced to six years in prison after the trial first began in September of 2011. They were found guilty of manslaughter. On April 6th, 2009 there was a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in L’Aquila that killed 309 people and destroyed the city. There were small tremors that occurred a few months before this deadly earthquake. The seven people were accused of providing “inexact, incomplete and contradictory” information in the months leading up to the earthquake about the tremors. The six scientists and the ex-governmental official were not only sentenced to six years in prison but also are now unable to hold public office and were ordered to pay court costs and damages. These scientists were some of the most internationally respected seismologists and geological experts.

This trial has been alarming to many scientists around the world. Some scientists feel that this case might deter some experts from sharing knowledge with the public. It might lead to being the target in lawsuits and will lead to being penalized for inaccurate predictions or for not accurately predicting an event in the future. This could cause the scientific field to become restricted. Some view that the scientists should have warned the public about the possibility of a deadly earthquake in the future. They believe these scientists are somewhat responsible for not preventing the deaths that occurred in the earthquake. This event is incredibly important around the world and could have a big impact on the science field. Even though this occurred in Italy, we hear about this event in the United States. This pertains to our class because this article discusses how their court system is different from our court system. We studied a whole chapter on our court system and I think it is interesting that the Italian court system does not make their conviction definitive until after at least one level of appeal.

Although I do not know much about a scientist’s ability to predict future earthquakes, I believe that this sentence is wrong. I do not think the seven people should be sent to prison for six years, be stripped of the ability to hold public office, and pay the damages. I think these punishments are incredibly harsh and the scientists do not deserve that sentence. I agree with the other concerned scientists around the world who believe this trial will have a negative impact on the scientific community. I think scientists from now on will become even more aware of the possibility of being held liable for information that was never proven right or wrong. I think this will have a negative impact on scientists’ work and will lead them to become more cautious about reporting their findings.