Jerry Boylan received four years in prison in the criminal prosecution of the deaths of 33 scuba divers and one crewmember in the tragic Conception dive boat fire, which blazed out of control in the early morning hours of Labor Day in 2019 while the boat was anchored less than 60 feet off Santa Cruz Island.
Prosecutors had argued for the maximum sentence, 10 years, saying that Boylan was the captain of the ship, and with life and death at stake, he chose to save himself first: “He was the first to abandon ship. He instructed his crew to do the same, multiple times. In doing so, he left all 34 victims onboard the Conception to die.”
The families of the victims added their voices to the plea in the prosecutors’ sentencing memo: “Boylan’s reckless actions shattered the foundation of our existence and left a trail of devastation and despair.” “For much of your career, you rolled the dice — with your passengers’ lives being the stakes. Except, they, not being aware of the rules, trusted you with their lives.” “My family and I were devastated. My parents, who were 94 and 98 at the time, were stunned into grief that they carried to their own graves.”