Concordia Captain Faces Life

Francesco Schettino, the captain of the wrecked Costa Concordia, is facing prosecutors who want him in jail for the rest of his life….and beyond. It emerged on Monday that they are actually seeking for him to be jailed for some 2,697 years. The 52-year-old has been under house arrest while investigators consider multiple manslaughter charges, as well as charges for causing the incident and abandoning ship during the disaster.

The Costa Concordia crashed into rocks on Friday, January 13 after being guided too far inland for a salute to the Tuscan island of Giglio. Because of the shipwreck, 17 people are dead, and with at least another 17 still unaccounted for, the believed death toll sits at 34. Prosecutors say that at least 300 passengers were abandoned on the ship as well. Lead investigator Francesco Verusio is seeking eight years for each passenger abandoned and killed, ten years for causing the shipwreck and 15 years for multiple manslaughter – all to be served consecutively. This comes to a total of 2,697 years.

This was brought before an appeal judge on Monday during a three-hour closed door hearing. Schettino had been granted house arrest at his Meta di Sorrento home, which he shares with his wife and teen daughter. Prosecutors argued that the captain should be put in jail, as they are afraid he will meddle with evidence. Since he abandoned the ship, there is also the possibility he could try to avoid justice.

Meanwhile, Schettino’s lawyer, Bruno Leporatti, argued that his client be released. He pointed out that the captain was suspended from his post by Costa Cruises after the disaster and that the incident was unrepeatable and unique proof that he wouldn’t flee justice or tamper with evidence. However, Verusio said that the captain’s reaction when he was first notified he was being investigated and taken to jail demonstrated the fact that he could try to escape. This is because he asked if he could go to his hotel first and then to get something to eat. There’s also the possibility that he could flee to various places around the world, he added.

Then on Tuesday, a judge continued the house arrest, rejecting both the defendant’s and prosecutors’ requests. Leporatti said that this decision means that the justice system still works based on its principles and not public opinion or the media, who want Schettino to begin serving his time in jail before the sentence is handed down.

Hans Reinhardt, who is legally representing 19 German passengers who have filed criminal charges, says that he thinks the judge’s decision is fair, leaving things like they are and not giving in to public pressure. His clients have filed charges of suspicion of negligent bodily harm, endangering shipping, failure to offer assistance to people in danger and abandonment. A German court could may proceed with the suit if Italian courts don’t find the captain guilty.

These German passengers were only a few of the 1,023 crew and 3,206 guests on the cruise ship. Costa Cruises, on January 27, proposed a settlement of $14,600 per passenger and a refund for all travel expenses. However, there have been legal actions filed against the cruise operator all over the world, including one for $460 million in damages and compensation on behalf of two Italian and four American travellers – who are being represented by Italy’s Codacons and two American law firms.