Captain faces 10 years in jail for fiery deaths of 34 people aboard California scuba boat

quote:

---

LOS ANGELES — A scuba dive boat captain was scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge Thursday on a conviction of criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel nearly five years ago.

The Sept. 2, 2019, blaze was the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history, and prompted changes to maritime regulations, congressional reform and several ongoing lawsuits.

Captain Jerry Boylan was found guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer last year. The charge is a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as seaman’s manslaughter that was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters.

Boylan’s appeal is ongoing. He faces up to 10 years behind bars.

The defense is asking the judge to sentence Boylan to a five-year probationary sentence, with three years to be served under house arrest.

“While the loss of life here is staggering, there can be no dispute that Mr. Boylan did not intend for anyone to die,” his attorneys wrote in a sentencing memo. “Indeed, Mr. Boylan lives with significant grief, remorse, and trauma as a result of the deaths of his passengers and crew.”

---