Italian court deliberating appeal in quake trial
National News
An appeals court is deliberating the fate of seven experts who were found guilty of failing to adequately warn residents of the risk before an earthquake struck central Italy in 2009, killing more than 300 people.
The guilty verdict and six-year jail sentences handed down two years ago sent shock waves through the scientific community, which argued that the allegations represented a complete misunderstanding about the science behind earthquake probabilities.
An appeals court in L'Aquila is expected to issue a verdict on the appeal later Monday.
The defendants, all prominent scientists or geological or disaster experts, were accused of giving "inexact, incomplete and contradictory information" about whether small tremors felt by L'Aquila residents in the weeks and months before the 6.3-magnitude quake should have been grounds for a warning.
Related listings
-
Appeals court in Va. reviewing NC abortion law
National News 10/30/2014North Carolina's solicitor general on Wednesday urged a federal appeals court to revive a state law that would require abortion providers to show and describe an ultrasound of the fetus to the pregnant woman, even if the patient refuses to look or li...
-
Court in Va. examines death row isolation policy
National News 10/28/2014Virginia's practice of automatically holding death row inmates in solitary confinement will be reviewed by a federal appeals court in a case that experts say could have repercussions beyond the state's borders. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in ...
-
Court justice suspended over role in porn scandal
National News 10/22/2014The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday suspended one of its members over his participation in a state government pornographic email scandal that involved employees of the attorney general's office. The court justices issued an order saying Justice ...