This book summarizes and critically reviews the complex story of the L'Aquila trial, in which five scientists and two civil protection officers were prosecuted for manslaughter after the earthquake of 6 April 2009 and sentenced to six-year terms in jail plus the payment of approximately 7 million euros to relatives of the victims. The aim is to cast light on the many open questions and inconsistencies in the reporting of the trial, as well as to examine the trial's implications and consequences. The seismological evidence and the knowledge of earthquake risk in the L'Aquila region before the earthquake are first reviewed. Key events, including the meeting attended by the defendants on 31 March 2009 and the interview recorded before but broadcast after the meeting, are carefully analyzed. The material presented by the prosecution and defence and the reasoning of the judge in reaching his verdict are then discussed, with detailed examination of the scientific issues relevant to the sentence. Although six of the defendants were acquitted upon appeal, and the sentence of the seventh was reduced, the trial remains a landmark event.
Many readers will find that this book causes them to reconsider their opinions of the original trial.
Reihe
Auflage
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Für höhere Schule und Studium
Für Beruf und Forschung
Illustrationen
20 s/w Abbildungen
20 black & white illustrations, biography
Maße
ISBN-13
978-3-319-30014-6 (9783319300146)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
Massimiliano Stucchi, physicist, had a long and distinguished career during which he was a researcher at the Istituto per la Geofisica della Litosfera, CNR, Milan (1972-1994), Director of Research at the Istituto di Ricerca sul Rischio Sismico, CNR, Milan (1995-2000), and a member of the Department of Engineering Seismology, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (he was Head of the Department from 2001 to 2007 and from 2010 to 2012). Dr. Stucchi retired in 2012 but is affiliated to EUCENTRE (European Centre for Research and Training in Earthquake Engineering), Pavia. His principal areas of interest have been historical seismology, earthquake catalogues and macroseismics, and seismic hazard and risk analysis. During his career, he held a variety of offices in scientific and technical organizations, including: Coordinator of the "European Seismicity Database" for the SHARE, EU project from 2009 to 2013; Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (2008-2012); Member of the Scientific (2005-2007) and Advisory Boards (2007-2014) of EUCENTRE; and Chairperson of the European Seismological Commission's WGs "Macroseismology" (1992-1996), "Historical Seismology" (1998-2002), and "Uniform Parametric Earthquake Catalogue and Intensity Database for the European Mediterranean Area" (2007-2012). Dr. Stucchi was a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Earthquake Engineering from 1997 to 2005. He has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Introduction.- A short history of the event.- Seismological overview, including Giuliani forecast.- Seismic hazard, vulnerability and risk at L'Aquila.- The Major Risk Committee: history and duties.- The meeting of 31 March 2009 and what followed.- The prosecution and the international scientists' reaction.- The first degree trial; the material of prosecutor and defense.- The first degree sentence to six years and its motivation.- In particular, the "missing" seismic risk analysis vs the "missing" earthquake forecast.- An overview of the political and, mostly, the scientific response to the sentence.- The appeal trial and the acquittal (motivation to come). Could the verdict be overturned a second time?.- Conclusion: positive and negative changes introduced by the trial.
