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Tonight Juan Choc, a man who had confessed to manslaughter, walked after Justice Ricardo O'Neil Sandcroft ruled his caution statement, the only evidence the crown had against him, inadmissible.

It's a ruling that comes after the accused took the stand to explain that he was starved during his initial detention and so felt pressured by the police into giving a caution statement confession.

And today, after DPP's crown council closed her case, Choc's attorney, Anthony Sylvester made a no-case submission which was upheld by the judge who acquitted Choc of manslaughter and set him free.

Will Belize Become A Republic

Is Belize on its way to becoming a republic? Well, according to the Prime Minister, it's likely. In an interview with The Guardian UK, John Briceno says Belize may be the next member of the commonwealth to become a republic. Briceno then criticized Rishi Sunak, UK's prime minister, for his refusal to apologize for Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade.

The article then states, quote, "Briceño argued that the British government had a moral responsibility to apologise for the atrocities of slavery, and added to calls throughout the English-speaking Caribbean for financial reparations from the UK.

"I think [Sunak] has a moral responsibility to be able to offer at the very least an apology," Briceño said. "He should have a better appreciation of it because of his ancestry." End quote.

The article also notes that there is bipartisan support for the move to become a republic, and that Belize is the only Caribbean country in the realm where the crown could be removed with a parliamentary vote rather than a referendum.

Notably, it has been a little over a year since Prince William and Duchess Kate visited Belize where they got the full red carpet treatment. Their visit was preempted by a protest in Indian Creek Village, which caused them to have to change their itinerary. Just this week, the protest was referred to as an ‘embarrassment' by Minister Dolores Balderamos Garcia.

He Won 50k On Scratch And Win

A family is $50,000 richer after one man bought a winning Scratch and Win ticket. He explained that he held the ticket in his pocket for a while before finally scratching it, and recalled the excitement he felt when he realized he'd won. He came by our studio today and chose to remain anonymous.