Judges in the appeals trial of
former Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino are meeting
to decide on his sentencing for the 2012 shipwreck that left 32
dead off a Tuscan island.
Schettino was handed a 16-year sentence in the
first-instance trial, after prosecutors asked for 26 years. In
the second instance trial, prosecutors have called for a 27-year
sentence, saying Schettino should be found guilty of multiple
manslaughter, abandoning ship and other charges.
Schettino did not attend court on Tuesday and remained at
home in Meta di Sorrento near Naples. The hearing began in the
morning, with a final statement from the defence. Sentencing is
due around 18:00.
The former skipper was in charge of the 290m-long cruise
liner with more than 4,000 passengers and crew on board when it
hit rocks off Giglio island, tearing a gash in its side.
Investigators have accused him of bringing the ship too
close to shore. He has said he bears some responsibility but
that he has been targeted as a scapegoat and that other members
of crew and the ship's owner Costa Cruises also played a role in
the disaster.
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