Seven Italian scientists who faced prison for failing to predict the deadly L'Aquila earthquake were cleared Monday after an appeal court overturned manslaughter convictions that had sparked international outrage.
The seven seismology and engineering experts had been sentenced to six years in jail in October 2012 after a court in the medieval town of L'Aquila found them guilty of multiple manslaughter for having allegedly downplayed the risk of the town being hit by the killer earthquake in 2009.