Los Angeles Sentences Scuba Dive Boat Captain to Four Years for Seaman’s Manslaughter After Fatal Fire
Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles handed down a four-year prison term to a scuba dive boat skipper found guilty of “seaman’s manslaughter” following a fire that killed 34 persons on board.
A year ago, a jury found Captain Jerry Boylan guilty of one charge of misbehavior or neglect of a ship officer. He faces a four-year prison term plus three years of probation for criminal negligence.
Congress passed new maritime legislation, and numerous lawsuits are still pending as a result of the 2 September 2019 fire, the worst marine tragedy in recent US history.
A pre-Civil War statute commonly referred to as seaman’s manslaughter describes the charge of misbehavior or neglect of a ship officer last year. Its purpose was to ensure that those at fault in maritime mishaps would face consequences, such as capsized steamboats.
With numerous tears and passionate statements, Boylan’s family urged with US District Judge George Wu to impose the maximum 10-year term.
On the last day of a three-day expedition, the Conception, an anchored schooner off Santa Cruz Island 25 miles south of Santa Barbara, caught fire just before sunrise and sank fewer than 100 feet from the coast.
Tragically, a crew member and thirty-three passengers perished in a bunkroom located below deck. A Singaporean data scientist, a couple on a world tour, an environmental scientist doing research in Antarctica, a deckhand who had just landed her dream job, and a family of three sisters—a father and his wife—were among the deceased.
On Thursday, Robert Kurtz—the deckhand’s father—came to the lectern to speak to Boylan and the court while carrying a little container. “I don’t have anything else with my daughter,” he stated.
The youngest fatality on board was 16-year-old Berenice Felipe, whose mother Yadira Alvarez was also a victim. Berenice hoped to one day work as a marine biologist and volunteered at an animal sanctuary.
Boylan was allegedly the first to jump off the ship, according to the prosecution. His four companions on the ship also made it out alive.
During the hearing, the attorney for Boylan presented a statement to the court in which he conveyed his sympathies and stated that he had shed tears daily since the fire.
The defense had requested that the court place Boylan under home arrest for three of the five years of his probationary term. He continues to make his case.
Sentencing took place on Thursday, marking the penultimate stage of a contentious prosecution that has persisted for over five years and caused the victims’ families constant anguish.
In 2020, a grand jury considered 34 charges of seaman’s manslaughter, which could have resulted in 340 years in prison for Boylan.
