Captain guilty in Costa Concordia shipwreck that killed 32; gets 16 years
The captain of a cruise liner that capsized in 2012, resulting in the drowning deaths of 32 people, was sentenced Wednesday in an Italian manslaughter trial to 16 years in prison.
Captain Francesco Schettino, 54, was not present when the judges’ verdict was read in the theater being used as a court for the trial over the Costa Concordia deaths in the Tuscan city of Grosseto. He is expected to appeal his conviction and sentence, according to the BBC News, the Los Angeles Times (sub. req.) and the New York Times (reg. req.). As the appeals proceeds, he will not be imprisoned.
The sentence included 10 years for manslaughter, five years for shipwreck and one year for abandoning ship while passengers were still aboard.
Schettino and the ship’s operator also were jointly ordered to pay a compensation totaling millions of euros to passengers and to governmental authorities for environmental damage, reports Reuters.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Verdict looms for Costa Concordia captain accused of manslaughter in shipwreck deaths of 32”
ABA Journal: “For vacationers encountering trouble on cruise ships, U.S. laws may provide little help”
