The easiest way to know that your government is backward is when you live in a country that sends you to prison for not accurately predicting an earth quake.  Yes, people might get killed, but this isn’t an exact science.  Scientists are resigning in protest to a recent set of verdicts handed down by Italian courts, and some are saying that this decision could change the course of research forever.

On your list of career options, you might want to take the words “Italian Earthquake Scientist” off your list.  It could be hazardous to your freedom.

Earthquake experts worldwide expressed shock at the manslaughter convictions of six Italian scientists who failed to predict the deadly L’Aquila quake, warning that the decision could severely harm future research.

Two scientists resigned their posts with the government’s disaster preparedness agency Tuesday after a court in L’Aquila sentenced six scientists and a government official to six years in prison. The court ruled Monday that the scientists failed to accurately communicate the risk of the 2009 quake, which killed more than 300 people.

Luciano Maiani, the physicist who led the National Commission for the Prediction and Prevention of Major Risks, resigned in protest of the verdict Tuesday afternoon, Italy’s Civil Protection Agency announced.

“The situation created by the sentencing yesterday on the facts from L’Aquila is incompatible with a clear and effective performance of the functions of the commission and its role as a consulting bodies for the state,” Maiani said in a statement released by the agency.

– What the Ha- Yell