Convictions Overturned for Italian Earthquake Researchers

Over three years ago, I blogged about the manslaughter trial of several prominent earthquake researchers in Italy accused of giving inaccurate information about the risks of an earthquake in central Italy. More than 300 people subsequently died from a 2009 earthquake in L'Aquila. In a move that surprised many onlookers in the United States, the researchers were convicted.  Today, however, an appellate court overturned those convictions (but apparently left alone the conviction of a "civil protection agency official" who made official statements related to earthquake risk).