Former boat captain Jerry Boylan in California has been sentenced by a federal judge on Thursday to 4 years in prison for the "seaman's manslaughter" of 34 people who died in a fire aboard his boat on Labor Day in 2019.
He was found guilty in 2023 for misconduct and negligence of a ship officer and not being able to fight the fire, rescue passengers, conduct adequate fire drills, train his crew, and set a night watch, all of which could have prevented the tragedy.
The 70 years Boylan was one of the five crew members on board the 75 foot ship and was among the first people who managed to get off the boat before the fire.
It was gathered that most of the passengers died below deck, while the former boat captain Jerry Boylan was able to make it to safety
Firefighters were able to put out the flames before they spread to the rest of the boat.
"The Conception was one of the largest vessels in the Channel Islands, and it was one of the oldest vessels in California," said U.S. Attorney's Office for the
The National Transportation Safety Board's Robert Sumwalt said at the time that it was the worst maritime accident in nearly seven decades.
At Thursday's news conference, Susan Solano Rosas (the mother of three of the victims) said she was relieved by the verdict but disappointed in the length of the sentence.
"I have lost faith in our justice system in this country, I would have expected a sentence of at least 10 years but we have to accept that it is what it is."
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