- Title: ITALY-SHIP/VERDICT REAX Mixed reaction to verdict on Costa Concordia captain
- Date: 11th February 2015
- Summary: GROSSETO, ITALY (FEBRUARY 11, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** MEDIA OUTSIDE TEATRO MODERNO THEATRE, VENUE FOR COSTA CONCORDIA CAPTAIN FRANCESCO SCHETTINO'S TRIAL TELEVISION NEWS BULLETIN ON VERDICT, SEEN THROUGH BAR WINDOW LAWYERS SHAKING HANDS INSIDE THEATRE AFTER SENTENCE VARIOUS OF FRANCESCO SCHETTINO'S DEFENCE LAWYER, DOMENICO PEPE, WALKING OVER TO SHAKE HANDS WITH JUDGES LAWYERS SHAKING HANDS MEDIA AT THEATRE ENTRANCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) FRENCH SURVIVOR, ANNE DECRE, SAYING: "The verdict for me is different from the way you can feel it because for me, it means six months for each dead person and for the families of the dead people, it is not six months or seventeen years, it's forever." MEDIA SCRUM AT THEATRE ENTRANCE (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) FRANCESCO SCHETTINO'S DEFENCE LAWYER, DOMENICO PEPE, SAYING: "This is a major verdict in terms of punishment but it is a verdict that has not accepted the exaggerated requests proposed by the prosecution, with 26 years in prison, immediate arrest and so on. We are not talking about a criminal, we are speaking of someone who is accused of criminal negligence. The shipwreck was only an accident and therefore it should be perceived as such by the public." MEDIA SCRUM AT THEATRE ENTRANCE (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) FRANCESCO SCHETTINO'S DEFENCE LAWYER, DOMENICO PEPE, SAYING: "We will certainly appeal against this verdict, we are talking about 16 years here which is not little." POLICE / PEPE WALKING PAST MEDIA MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) FRANCESCO SCHETTINO'S DEFENCE LAWYER, DONATO LAINO, SAYING: "You already know that he is not in good health, so he did not attend the hearing because he is under great physical stress. Look around you, how can a man who has been inflicted such a sentence come here, ask yourselves that." MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) LAWYER REPRESENTING COSTA CRUISES, MARCO DE LUCA, SAYING: "All the observations about the supposed shortcomings of the company have always been thoroughly evaluated by the prosecution and have always been ruled out by the prosecution." MEDIA ( SOUNDBITE) (English) MASSIMILIANO GABRIELLI, LAWYER REPRESENTING SOME OF THE CONCORDIA PASSENGERS, SAYING: "I think they could have asked for a lot more but they decided to balance their judgement between Schettino's responsibilities and the compensation for passengers. They could have done a lot more, probably they will, because we are going to appeal for sure." CROWDS OUTSIDE THEATRE
- Embargoed: 26th February 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Italy
- Country: Italy
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA8YO4FPEEIB58GX07F209GREQ
- Story Text: Lawyers and survivors of the Costa Concordia shipwreck were surrounded by the media as they left the Tuscan theatre where captain Francesco Schettino was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his role in the 2012 shipwreck that killed 32 people off the Tuscan holiday island of Giglio.
Schettino was commanding the vessel, a floating hotel as long as three football pitches, when it came too close to shore and hit rocks off the island, tearing a hole in its side.
He was convicted of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his passengers in one of the highest-profile shipping disasters in recent years.
Outside the theatre, French shipwreck survivor Anne Decre said the sentence was short when taking into account the loss of 32 lives.
"The verdict for me is different from the way you can feel it, because for me it means six months for each dead person and for the families of the dead people it is not six months or seventeen years, it's forever," she said.
Schettino will not actually go to jail before the end of Italy's long appeals process, which can take years after the court said he would not be imprisoned or put under house arrest until the whole appeals process is complete.
Schettino's defence lawyer Domenico Pepe said his team would appeal against the decision.
"This is a major verdict in terms of punishment but it is a verdict that has not accepted the exaggerated requests proposed by the prosecution, with 26 years in prison, immediate arrest and so on. We are not talking about a criminal, we are speaking of someone who is accused of criminal negligence. The shipwreck was only an accident and therefore it should be perceived as such by the public," Pepe told reporters outside the court.
"We are talking about 16 years here which is not little," he added.
Defence lawyer Donato Laino said the captain had not attended the sentencing due to bad health and heavy media presence.
"You already know that he is not in good health so he did not attend the hearing because he is under great physical stress. Look around you, how can a man who has been inflicted such a sentence come here, ask yourselves that," he said.
The court sentenced Schettino to 10 years for multiple manslaughter, 5 years for causing the shipwreck and one year for abandoning his passengers. In addition he received a one month civil penalty for failure to report the accident correctly.
He was left alone in the dock to answer for the disaster after the ship's owners Costa Cruises, a unit of Carnival Corp, paid a 1 million euro ($1.1 million) fine and prosecutors accepted plea bargains from five other officials.
He and Costa Cruises were jointly ordered to pay a total of 30,000 euros compensation to each of the ship's passengers as well as millions of euros in compensation to Italian government ministries, the region of Tuscany and the island of Giglio for environmental damage.
"All the observations about the supposed shortcomings of the company have always been thoroughly evaluated by the prosecution and have always been ruled out by the prosecution," Costa Cruises' lawyer Marco de Luca told reporters outside the makeshift courthouse.
Massimiliano Gabrielli, a lawyer representing a group of passengers, said they deserved more compensation.
"I think they could have asked for a lot more but they decided to balance their judgement between Schettino's responsibilities and the compensation for passengers. They could have done a lot more, probably they will because we are going to appeal for sure," he said.
Investigators severely criticised Schettino's handling of the disaster, accusing him of bringing the 290 metre-long vessel too close to shore.
The subsequent shipwreck set off a chaotic night evacuation of more than 4,000 passengers and crew.
Schettino was also accused of delaying evacuation and abandoning ship before all the 4,229 passengers and crew had been rescued.
Prosecutors had asked for a prison sentence of 26 years for Schettino, who has admitted some responsibility but denied blame for the deaths that occurred during the evacuation.
The massive hulk of the Costa Concordia was left abandoned on its side for two-and-a-half years before it was towed away in the most expensive maritime wreck recovery in history. The last body was not recovered until last year.
Schettino's defence team argued he prevented an even worse disaster by steering the ship close to the island as it sank. They said the sentence that was sought by prosecutors went beyond even sentences sought for mafia killers. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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