The captain of the capsized Costa Concordia told the court deciding if he is to blame for 32 shipwreck deaths that "his head was sacrificed" to safeguard the commercial interests of the Italian cruise line company.

Francesco Schettino broke into sobs and couldn't finish his statement to the three-judge panel immediately before it retired to begin deliberations Wednesday on his role in the 2012 shipwreck near an Italian island. He is accused of manslaughter, causing the shipwreck and abandoning ship while many of the 4,200 passengers and crew were still aboard.

Lawyers for the captain of the capsized Costa Concordia appealed on Wednesday to the court trying him for the 2012 deadly shipwreck to consider malfunctioning equipment and mistakes by other crew, when it determines whether he is iterm not just his role, when it begins deliberations shortly.

The court in Grosseto, Italy, will soon deliberate the fate of Francesco Schettino, charged with manslaughter in the deaths of 32 people, abandoning ship before all of the 4,200 passengers and crew were evacuated and causing the shipwreck. The Concordia smashed into a reef when sailing too close to Giglio Island.

Lawyer Donato Laino contended Wednesday that prosecutors built their case "around one person, not the facts." Schettino says he's a scapegoat.

Five Costa Crociere SpA employees, including four crewmembers, were permitted plea bargains. None went to prison.