The Italian captain of the cruise ship Costa Concordia was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison on Wednesday, a verdict that comes after a nearly two-year trial for Captain Francesco Schettino's part in the shipwreck that killed 32 people.
Prosecutors originally asked for a 26-year sentence for the captain accused of steering too close to the shore of the Tuscan island of Giglio, tearing a hole in the side of the ship carrying 4,200 passengers on Jan. 13, 2012, ABC News reported.
Schettino, described by prosecutors as a "reckless idiot," abandoned the luxury cruise ship before most of the passengers were rescued.
It took more than 30 minutes for the names of the survivors and dead victims to be read out loud during Schettino's trial on multiple counts of manslaughter.
Some survivors, who filed civil lawsuits seeking monetary damages, denounced the 16-year and one month sentence as not severe enough.
"Thirty-two dead. That's about six months for every person who died," survivor Anne Decre said according to the Associated Press.
The three-judge panel that delivered the verdict ordered Schettino and the company that operated the vessel, Costa Crociere, to pay damages. However, the amount was not disclosed, according to ABC News. No Crociere executives were charged in the disaster.
Schettino, who was not present when his guilty verdict was announced in Grosetto city, slammed his conviction. He claimed factors beyond his control including a helmsman who did not listen to his orders and language barriers as the cause of the deaths.
The verdict "should have involved an entire organization and instead sees me as the only defendant," Schettino said according to the AP.
"My head was sacrificed to serve economic interests," he said.
