The captain of a California dive boat who jumped overboard rather than put out a fire that killed 34 people has been jailed.
Jerry Boylan was sentenced to four years for criminal negligence over his response after a fire broke out on The Conception in September 2019, killing 33 passengers and one crew trapped below deck.
It was one of the deadliest maritime disasters in the country for years and led to an overhaul of laws and congressional reform. There are several still ongoing lawsuits.
Relatives of the victims have denounced the sentence, saying he should have been jailed for the 10-year maximum allowed.
Robert Kurtz, father of the sole deckhand killed, Alexandra Kurtz, held a small container with him as he spoke to the court. “This is all I have of my daughter,” he said.
After the sentencing, Susana Solano, who lost three of her daughters and their father on the boat, said she was “extremely disappointed”. She said: “It’s just heart-wrenching.”
Boylan, 70, was found guilty of a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as “seaman’s manslaughter”. It was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters.