In 2015, 18 year old Hilberto Sotz was killed in police custody on Caye Caulker. At the time, it caused an uproar on the island and led to two police constables, Hallet King and Leonard Nunez being charged for murder. That was later downgraded and they were tried for manslaughter.
A jury found them guilty in July of 2019 and they were sent to jail to await sentencing. But just one month later they were set free with time served - one year and four months.
That left the Sotz family in deep distress and the DPP appealed the decision. First the Court of Appeal overturned the convictions and this week it went to the Caribbean Court of Justice where the panel of judges reinstated the manslaughter convictions of the two police officers.
Here's how Justice Maureen Rajnauth-Lee put it:
Justice Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, CCJ
"The appeal is allowed. The convictions of the two respondents are reinstated, and the matter is remitted to the Court of Appeal for the hearing and determination of the appeal by the Crown on sentencing."
So the matter now goes back to the Court of Appeal where the DPP will ask for a custodial sentence. In court she cited manslaughter cases involving head injuries and the sentencing range was 15 years and up...
