Prosecutor seeks 26-year jail sentence for Concordia captain

Italian prosecutors called Monday for judges to show “no pity” to Francesco Schettino, the captain of the doomed Costa Concordia, demanding he serve 26 years and three months in jail for the shipwreck that killed 32 people. Co-prosecutor Maria Navarro told the trial in Grosseto, Tuscany, that it was “not an exaggerated sentence” for a man who “has lied to everyone, to the press, to the court, to the maritime authorities”. Schettino, 54, is accused of delaying sounding the alarm or calling for help after hitting rocks off the Italian island of Giglio on January 13, 2012, during a risky drive-by manoeuvre, as well as abandoning ship before many of the passengers had been rescued.

God have pity on Schettino, because we cannot have any.

Prosecutor Stefano Pizza, in his summation

The vast cruise liner, carrying 4,229 people from more than 70 countries, hit the rocks as many were sitting down to dinner, before listing and rolling over onto its side. The delayed evacuation made it impossible to launch many of the lifeboats on one side, forcing people to throw themselves into the sea to escape. Navarro called for Schettino to serve 14 years behind bars for multiple manslaughter, nine years for causing a shipwreck, three years for abandoning ship and three months for failing to contact the authorities when the accident happened.

World Costa Concordia