Captain Schettino and the sinking of the Costa Concordia – video report Guardian

Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia who was found guilty of manslaughter on Wednesday, is expected to remain a free man for as long as five years and is likely to receive a reduced sentence after a lengthy appeal process, according to legal experts in Italy.



The disgraced commander was sentenced to 16 years in prison after also being found guilty of causing the shipwreck that killed 32 people in 2012 and of deserting his post. But in Italy, Schettino’s verdict is not considered final until after his appeals are over, and the length of that process will depend on the backlog of cases in the court in Florence, where the case will be heard.

That process could last up to five years, but given the high profile of the case, is more likely to take two to three years, experts said.

“[The delay] is normal according to the Italian legal system,” said Markus Wiget, a criminal lawyer in Milan.



A person found guilty of a crime is only put in jail immediately if they are believed to be a flight risk, if there is a risk they will commit the same crime again – unlikely in Schettino’s case because he is no longer a cruise captain – or if it is suspected they would hide evidence.

Francesco Schettino, captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner, arrives at his trial on Wednesday. Photograph: Max Rossi/Reuters

Another lawyer, Emilio Battaglia, said that in Italy the presumption of innocence is essentially in place until all appeals have been exhausted.

On Thursday, a day after the verdict was read in a theatre in Grosseto that was used as a makeshift courthouse, Schettino said he would try to clear his name.

“I will fight for ever to prove that I did not abandon the Costa,” he said, according to Agence-France Presse.

Andrea Davies, a native of South Africa who was on the ill-fated cruise liner, said she was surprised and disappointed that Schettino was not imprisoned immediately.

“A guilty verdict without a sentence is kind of very forgiving,” she said.

“We understand this can go on for many years, at which time there is likely to be some other excuse for him to be pardoned, be it health or age,” she said.

On the night of the disaster, Davies and her husband were initially offered a single space on a lifeboat but chose to stay together. Hours later, they were forced to jump into the water and swam to safety.

“We had a traumatic and life-changing experience,” she told the Guardian. “We decided to take the leap and take charge of our own destiny.”