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Court of Cassation rejected the appeal of the defense of Francesco Schettino

The Court of Cassation has rejected the appeal of the defense of the former captain Francesco Schettino against the order of the Court of Appeal of Genoa which in February 2022 denied the revision of the trial for the sinking of the 'Costa Concordia' on Jan 13, 2012, off Giglio, which cost the lives of 32 people. Schettino is therefore sentenced to sixteen years' imprisonment. While waiting to know the reasons (not yet filed) that prompted the Supreme Court not to accept the request for a new trial, the disappointment of the lawyers who assisted Schettino, the lawyers Saverio Senese and Paola Astarita, remainsed. “I don't hide my bitterness. I still believe that the sentence for the shipwreck was completely legitimate, but the one for manslaughter and abandoning ship left me with many doubts. We acknowledge that the word has come to an end on this case which, in my opinion, remains a great judicial error". Schettino's defense underlined in the appeal how the Genoese judges did not take into consideration the new evidence (a video and two technical consultancies) that had been filed. Simply declaring it inadmissible "de plano", that is, without going into the merits of the new documents. In particular, the new evidence presented in support of the request for review of the trial concerns the tightness of the watertight doors, "truly responsible for the overturning and sinking of the Costa Concordia", according to the advice filed by the defense, together with the failure of the emergency diesel generator. The Court of Grosseto condemned Schettino on Feb 11, 2015, and the sentence was confirmed by the Court of Appeal of Florence one year later and made definitive by the Cassation on May 12, 2017, the day on which the former captain entered the prison of Rebibbia. In these 5,5 years, Schettino has already left prison a few times with reward permits and since last September he has been benefiting from alternative measures, engaged as an archivist in the digitization of the documents of the Ustica massacre.

"Captain Coward' to be released soon

Francesco Schettino, who was captain on board the 'Costa Concordia' when it sank off Giglio on Jan 13, 2012, is expected to be released from Rebibbia prison in Rome shortly. In February 2023, he will have served half of the 16-year sentence he was sentenced to on Feb 11, 2015, for being responsible for the deaths of 32 people. When half of the sentence has been served, he has the option of applying to serve the rest of the sentence outside prison, a possibility that the prison management has already indicated that it views positively. During his prison stay, Francesco Schettino has studied law and journalism, as well as skilled in the use of modern scanner technology. Based on this knowledge, the prison management recommends that Schettino, due to his skills, be employed in a state archive to digitize historical documents. He will thus not get the opportunity to return to his former profession.

Italy marks 10th anniversary of sinking

Itally on Jan 13, 2022, marks the 10th anniversary of the sinking of the 'Costa Concordia' off Giglio. In the evening, at the same time when the ship struck the rocks, a candlelit commemoration and prayers will take place in memory of the victims. Some survivors have been back to Giglio in gratitude to the islanders who helped them make it out alive. - Jan. 13, 2012: The Costa Concordia slams into a reef off Italy’s Giglio island after the captain, Francesco Schettino, ordered it taken off course and brought it close to shore in a stunt. It drifts without power until it comes to rest on its side offshore. After weeks of searches, rescue crews confirm 32 people died. Jan. 15, 2012: Prosecutor Francesco Verusio confirms passenger allegations that Schettino abandoned the Concordia before all the passengers and crew had been evacuated. - Jan. 17, 2012: Schettino is placed under house arrest. - Jan. 17, 2012: Dramatic audio of the shipwreck is broadcast in which Coast Guard Cmdr. Gregorio De Falco uses colorful expletives to order Schettino to get back on board to coordinate the evacuation. “You’ve abandoned ship! I’m in charge now,” De Falco yells. “Go back and report to me how many passengers there are and what they need. … Perhaps you saved yourself from the sea, but I’ll make you pay for this, damn it!” - Jan. 20, 2012: Costa’s CEO tells Italian state TV that Schettino relayed inaccurate information to the company and crew and downplayed the seriousness of the situation after the ship hit the rocks, delaying the mobilization of proper assistance. - July 9, 2013: Schettino goes on trial for manslaughter, abandoning ship and causing the shipwreck. The trial is held in a 1,000-seat theater on the mainland in Grosseto, a spacious venue so survivors and relatives of victims can attend. - July 20, 2013: Five Costa employees are convicted of manslaughter in a separate trial, receiving sentences of less than three years after entering plea bargains. - Sept. 17, 2013: Fog horns wail shortly after 4 a.m. to announce the 'Costa Concordia' had been wrenched from its side and reached vertical after 19-hour operation using chains and weighted tanks to right it from the seabed. - Oct. 8, 2013: The remains of one of the two people still missing is located by divers working on the wreck, later identified as Italian Maria Grazia Trecarichi. - Feb. 1, 2014: A Spanish diver working on the wreckage dies after apparently gashing his leg on an underwater metal sheet, news reports say. - July 23, 2014: As boat sirens wail and bells toll, the wreck begins its final voyage as it is towed from Giglio to be turned into scrap. It arrives in Genoa’s shipyard on July 27. - Nov. 3, 2014: The body of Indian waiter Russel Rebello, the last missing victim, is found by crews dismantling the vessel for scrap in Genoa.