So yesterday six internationally respected scientists, plus a government official, were convicted by an Italian court of manslaughter for not issuing a warning of the magnitude 6.3 L’Aquila earthquake of 2009 which killed 309 people. They were each sentenced to 6 years in prison.

For what? Yes, that’s right: doing their job to the best of their ability.

On the basis of the best evidence available to them, these experts didn’t issue a warning about the imminence of the earthquake because that evidence didn’t indicate there would be one; because predicting earthquakes is (still) effectively impossible. It’s a decision which most of their colleagues around the world apparently support.

They made an honourable scientific decision based on the evidence. So how can they be culpable?

Now I’m no expert on earthquakes, but my friend Ziggy Lubkowski is a world leader in earthquake engineering. And he is even more quietly and coldly furious than am I. You can see what he says on his work weblog. I commend it; he says it much better than I can!

It would seem to me that the direct consequence of this is that no scientist should now express any opinion as to any the future happening. Or perhaps the only comments should be either “No comment” or “We don’t know”. Surely to do anything else leaves one exposed. That means scientists — which includes the guys who forecast our weather! — will no longer be able to fulfil their roles in society. It will stifle science, progress and more immediately public safety. Would I blame anyone for taking such such an approach? How can I?!

Surely any legal system which can allow such a prosecution to even get to court is deeply flawed. For everyone’s sake let’s just hope that this travesty of justice gets overturned on appeal.