Captain Insists on Plea Deal in Italian Shipwreck

July 18, 2013

The captain who is the only defendant on trial for the 2012 shipwreck of the cruise liner Costa Concordia off the Italian coast is trying anew for a plea bargain deal.

Francesco Schettino’s trial resumed on Wednesday in Grosseto, Italy, after a week’s suspension due to a lawyers’ strike. His lawyer, Donato Laino, told reporters the defense holds out little hope the judge will allow a deal for Schettino to plead guilty in exchange for a three-year-five-month sentence. Schettino risks up to 20 years if found guilty in a full trial on charges of manslaughter, abandoning ship and causing the shipwreck that claimed 32 lives.

A different judge in pretrial hearings rejected Schettino’s first bid but let five others bargain for more lenient sentences. Schettino calls himself an innocent scapegoat.