Where Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino is now after skipping jail for years

After Netflix’s new documentary Shipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea, which delves into the Costa Concordia cruise ship tragedy that happened in 2012, here’s a look at the captain Francesco Schettino’s life now.

The film tells the shocking story of the cruise ship, operated by the Italian cruise line Costa Crociere, which sank on 13th January 2012 after crashing into some rocks near Giglio Island.

32 people sadly lost their lives after the captain waited 70 minutes to sound the abandon ship siren. Schettino was found guilty, but maintains his innocence and claims he was made into a scapegoat for the tragedy.

Credit: Netflix

Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino is now in jail, but skipped prison for years

After the disaster happened, Schettino was placed in temporary custody by the prosecutor of Grosseto. He was then moved to house arrest on 17th January 2012. Six months later, on 5th July 2012, he was released from house arrest but ordered to stay in Meta di Sorrento.

Following a 19-month trial, the Costa Concordia captain was convicted of manslaughter, causing a maritime accident, and abandoning ship, and sentenced to 16 years behind bars on 11th February 2015. The sentence consisted of 10 years for manslaughter, five years for causing the shipwreck, and one year for abandoning passengers.

Most Read

Dad Gary Siders Jr’s part in 16 kids rescued in Ohio, as ‘wretched’ details emerge

‘Nothing is true’: Elizabeth Siders’ brother shares more details about the family in new posts

Lawyer for Elizabeth Siders shares new details about Ohio home and claims children were ‘free’

Credit: Netflix

However, Schettino didn’t go to jail straight away due to multiple appeals. He appealed the initial conviction, but it was upheld by an Italian appeals court on 31st May 2016. He then appealed again to Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation, but they upheld the conviction too, on 12th May, 2017.

At that point, the captain had exhausted all appeals and began serving his sentence, more than two years after being sentenced. Schettino is now behind bars at the Rebibbia Prison, a large jail in Rome that holds 352 women and 1927 men. He never pleaded guilty and has maintained his innocence.

In 2015, Francesco made a request for day release, which means he would be able to leave the jail for the day to go to work. However, he dropped the petition in April 2025 because he couldn’t secure a suitable work placement. He has already served 10 years of his sentence and is due to be released in May 2033.

For all the latest Netflix news and drops, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

Featured image credit: Netflix