Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34 aboard scuba boat
By STEFANIE DAZIO and AMY TAXIN
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge in Los Angeles has sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019. The tragedy was the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history. Captain Jerry Boylan was sentenced on Thursday. He 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. It was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters. Boylan’s appeal is ongoing.
