In late November 2015, the Italian Supreme Court formally and finally overturned the convictions of six scientists who had been charged with manslaughter for failing to adequately warn of the dangers of an April 2009 earthquake that left 309 people dead. The seismologists had participated in a meeting a week before the earthquake to discuss the dangers of recent smaller tremors in the town of L’Aquila. The original judge had found that their risk assessment of the threat of a larger earthquake had been superficial and inadequate, resulting in townspeople being wrongly reassured that they would be safe in their homes when the earthquake struck.
The complicated case began in 2010 when the six scientists were investigated and charged, resulting in six-year prison sentences handed down in 2012; the convictions were appealed and overturned in 2014. That appeal was itself appealed by prosecutors who asked that the convictions be reinstated. This final ruling by the Supreme Court puts an end to the matter for all involved.