Cruise Ship Captain Sentenced To 16 Years Behind Bars

The Italian cruise ship captain who wrecked the ship and then fled while many of the passengers and crew were still on board has been convicted of multiple counts of manslaughter.

Italian court officials say Francesco Schettino was sentenced to 16 years behind bars.

He was convicted in the deaths of 32 passengers and crew, as well as charges of causing a shipwreck and abandoning the vessel.

Prosecutors had described him as a ``reckless idiot,'' and asked for more than 26 years behind bars.

The captain told the court today that he was being made a scapegoat.