Three years after cruise ship Costa Concordia sank off an Italian coast, its captain, Francesco Schettino, was found guilty of manslaughter Wednesday. He subsequently was given a 16-year tenure in prison.
"The former captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Wednesday for his role in the 2012 shipwreck, which killed 32 people off the Tuscan holiday island of Giglio," Reuters reported. "Francesco Schettino was commanding the vessel, a floating hotel as long as three football pitches, when it hit rocks off the island, tearing a hole in its side."
However, the judges did not approve a request for the former captain, who wept during his last testimony, to start his incarceration right away.
"They ruled instead that would not go to prison until the appeals process is completed, which can take years," the news source said.
"The sentence was significantly less than the 26 years and 3 months requested by prosecutors, who called Schettino a 'reckless idiot,'" USA Today said. "He wasn't present when Judge Giovanni Puliatti read the verdict in a theater in Grosseto after the three-judge panel spent about eight hours deliberating."
Despite the "tsunami of evidence" presented against Schettino, the defendant "has admitted to nothing," said prosecutor Stefano Pizza, The Telegraph noted.
Schettino said, in his final testimony, that his "head was sacrificed to serve economic interests" of his bosses. He also pointed out that he was "a few hours from a verdict that should have involved an entire organization and instead sees me as the only defendant."
Although the families of many of the survivors and victims filed suits against Costa cruises, "no one from the cruise company's upper echelons was put on trial," USA Today noted. However, the company, as well as the former captain, have been ordered to pay each passenger $34,000. Both are also mandated to shell out millions for the environmental damage caused by the maritime mishap.
"The cruise company has already paid a $1.1 million fine for the disaster," the publication added.
According to the BBC, Schettino admitted he steered the liner too close to land "for commercial reasons," which included "a bid to please his passengers and those ashore."
"He had also rejected rumours that he had wanted to impress his lover, Domnica Cemortan, who was with him at the helm," the British news source said.
Schettino was not the only one handed out prison sentences in relation to the sinking.
"Five other employees, including the helmsman, were handed prison sentences ranging from 18 months to two years and 10 months in plea bargains concluded early in the investigation," the BBC said.
The ex-captain's plea bargain request was rejected.
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