Costa Concordia Captain In Plea Bargain Bid

The captain of a cruise ship that ran aground off the Italian coast, claiming the lives of 32 people, has asked for a plea bargain deal at his trial over the disaster.

Lawyers for Francesco Schettino, who was in charge of the Costa Concordia liner when it crashed into rocks off the island of Giglio last year, said their client was ready to plead guilty in exchange for a prison sentence of three years and five months.

But the defence also said it held out little hope that the judge would allow such a deal as the trial resumed in Grosseto, the town closest to where the shipwreck happened, after a week long suspension because of a lawyers' strike.

The captain, the only defendant, 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.

The request was made after an earlier plea bargain bid was thrown out by the judge in charge of preliminary investigations into what happened.

Domnica Cemortan said she was with Schettino at the time of the crash

Schettino, 52, is accused of abandoning ship before all crew and passengers had been rescued.

His lawyers argue that he prevented an even worse disaster by steering the 290 metre (950 foot) vessel into shallow waters
after the impact and that he was thrown overboard due to the angle of the leaning ship.

The trial began on July 9 but was immediately suspended because lawyers involved were taking part in a nationwide strike against measures to streamline civil trials. The hearing is expected to last for more than a year.

Lawyers for survivors and relatives of the victims attended the trial as it resumed on Wednesday.  

Ahead of the start Francesco Di Ciollo, who represents two Italian families, said: "We're here today to get justice.

"Survivors have to live with anxiety for the rest of their lives. There was darkness, panic, they were stranded inside without a way out."

The cruise ship captain speaks with his lawyers before the trial begins

The Costa Concordia crashed off Giglio on the night of January 13, 2012 with 4,229 people from 70 countries on board, killing 32 people.

Schettino was nicknamed "Captain Coward" for leaving while terrified people were trapped aboard the cruise lliner and then sobbing in the arms of the ship's chaplain.

The 52-year-old has been depicted as a blackguard who was showing off for a blonde female guest when he performed a risky manoeuvre to "salute" the island.

But some lawyers have been saying he should not be the sole defendant and Costa Crociere, Europe's biggest cruise operator, should share the blame.

Massimiliano Gabrielli, a lawyer for some of the survivors who is part of a group called 'Justice for the Concordia', accused Costa of "choosing to save the ship instead of saving people" - a reference to the delay of over an hour between the crash and the order to abandon ship.

Schettino's lawyers, Domenico and Francesco Pepe, have called for 100 witnesses and pledged to show that "no single person was responsible".

Grosseto's theatre is serving as a makeshift court to make room for people

They plan to probe Costa Crociere management, materials used to build the ship, and the apparent malfunction of emergency doors and back-up generators.

"He did not abandon ship," said Donato Laino, another lawyer for Schettino.

"If he had stayed another 10 minutes he would have fallen in the water and not been able to manage the evacuation."

Five other people have been charged over the disaster, including the ship's Indonesian helmsman and the head of Costa Crociere's crisis unit.

The five have negotiated plea bargains which are due to be ruled on at a separate hearing on July 20.

The prosecution says it wants 347 witnesses including Domnica Cemortan, a young Moldovan who was in Schettino's company at the time of impact.

Schettino's lawyer Francesco Pepe speaks to the media outside the theatre

The blonde, who has applied to be a plaintiff in the case, was in court in a white blouse and blue skirt.

The trial is being held in an improvised courtroom in a theatre in Grosseto, with the panel of judges seated on the stage.

The Concordia crashed as many of the passengers were sitting down to dinner, and a delayed and chaotic evacuation saw some desperately throw themselves overboard into the dark sea as lifeboats ran out.

The 290-metre (951-foot) ship still lies beached on its side, its rusting frame dwarfed by blue cranes and a floating hotel for divers and salvage workers.

The vessel is due to be re-floated but technical difficulties have repeatedly hampered the salvage and there have been warnings that its submerged side may be more damaged than previously thought.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Costa Concordia Captain In Plea Bargain Bid

Dengan url

http://jidatlancip.blogspot.com/2013/07/costa-concordia-captain-in-plea-bargain.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Costa Concordia Captain In Plea Bargain Bid

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Costa Concordia Captain In Plea Bargain Bid

sebagai sumbernya