seismologist convicted manslaughter

• The government official said smaller tremors release energy reducing the possibility of a large scale earthquake, which is incorrect
  

I'm not sure what makes this incorrect - with tectonic plate fault earthquakes, the small tremors generally release energy that could otherwise contribute to a larger quake. Obviously they still happen sometimes, and it's stupid to completely fail to prepare, but there's no 'early warning' via smaller tremors, which is what the alternative would imply.