16 year sentence for Costa Concordia captain found guilty of manslaughter

The captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner has been jailed for 16 years after being found guilty of multiple manslaughter. Judges ruled that Francesco Schettino was responsible for the deaths of 32 people after the ship smashed into rocks off Giglio island in January 2012. Widely dubbed “Captain Coward” in the Italian media, the 54-year-old was captured on video abandoning the ship following the collision - but always maintained he had “tripped” into a lifeboat.

His sentence has left me thoughtful on how our lives have changed since the accident, and how many people have been impacted by the tragedy and the trauma of his selfish behaviour.

Crash survivor Andrea Davis

The 54-year-old is expected to appeal the decision, which means it could be years before he is actually jailed for the crime, but prosecutors have requested that Schettino is imprisoned immediately. In the long-running trial, which began in July 2013, prosecutors claimed that Schettino lured passengers into a false sense of security by not ordering an immediate evacuation. Five other officers who had a “marginal” role in the accident had their plea bargains accepted in May 2013, and were sentenced to between 18 and 34 months.

Europe concordia