FLORENCE, ITALY – A Florence prosecutor asked an appeals court to sentence former Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino to 27 years for the 2012 shipwreck that left 32 dead off the Isola del Giglio, a Tuscan island.
Schettino got 16 years in the first-instance trial, after prosecutors asked for 26 years. The Florence prosecutor said Schettino should be found guilty of multiple manslaughter, abandoning ship and other charges.
The trial refers to the case of Costa Concordia cruise liner disaster that left 32 dead in Italy’s worst postwar maritime disaster in 2012.
During the emergency, Schettino received a call from Italian Coast Guard Commander Gregorio De Falco, who in the aftermath of the disaster was hailed as a “hero” for ordering Schettino to return to the sinking Concordia.
The former captain claims his image and actions have been distorted by investigators and the media, arguing that he saved lives by steering the ship close to Giglio as it took on water. He was the only person to stand trial for the disaster after a number of crew members and company staff reached plea bargains with prosecutors.
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