Costa Concordia captain has appeal rejected

By Euronews • Updated: 01/06/2016

A Florence appeal court has upheld the 16-year prison sentence for Francesco Schettino. He was the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship which sank off Italy in 2012. Thirty-two people died.

Court upholds 16-year prison sentence for the captain of the Costa Concordia: https://t.co/HCzLWY1xJD pic.twitter.com/XrprSKIg5D
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) May 31, 2016

A judge ruled it was his recklessness that lead to the ship striking rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio.

He was convicted of multiple manslaughter, causing a maritime accident and abandoning ship before all passengers and crew had been evacuated, earning himself the nickname “Captain Coward” in the press.

Schettino will not yet be jailed pending a further appeal but he is unlikely to serve the full sentence because of Italy’s crammed jails and generous parole system.

In the meantime the rejection of his appeal found favour in some quarters on social media.

Costa Concordia captain Schettino's jail sentence upheld – Good! He abandoned ship and left passengers aboard. https://t.co/WPSUOAQ7SP
— Rob McDowall MEA (@robmcd85) May 31, 2016

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