ROME (AP) – The Italian captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner that crashed into a reef in 2012 and capsized, killing 32 people, was headed to a Rome prison after losing his final appeals bid Friday.
The Court of Cassation, Italy’s highest criminal tribunal, upheld Francesco Schettino’s lower court convictions and his 16-year prison sentence.
Schettino was convicted of manslaughter and causing the shipwreck while captaining the luxury liner sailing near Giglio Island off Tuscany. He was also convicted of abandoning the capsizing vessel with passengers and crew still aboard.
“Finally, Schettino begins to pay for his wrongdoing,” Michelina Suriano, one of the lawyers representing passengers, said after the ruling.
Defense lawyer Saverio Senese called the ex-captain a scapegoat and expressed “great bitterness” over the final decision.