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Prosecutors reject latest plea deal for Concordia captain
Prosecutors have rejected a plea deal put forward by defense lawyers for Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino.
On the first day of the trial, the defense team said Schettino would plead guilty to partial responsible for the disaster in exchange for a sentence of three years and five months.
But prosecutors rejected the offer. They had also rejected a previous offer to serve three years and four months put forward in May.
Capt Schettino is charged with multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship when it hit rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio in January 2012.
If found guilty, the captain could face a maximum of 20 years in jail.
He denies the charges and his defense lawyers say they intend to show that “no single person” was to blame for the incident, which left 32 people dead.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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