Florida Man Serving A 400-Year Sentence Exonerated After Decades In Prison

A man who has served more than 34 years of a 400-year sentence is now a free man thanks to a re-examination of the case.

Sidney Holmes, 57, was convicted of aiding and abetting a 1988 robbery in Fort Lauderdale, according to ABC news. He was arrested for allegedly being the driver for two unidentified men who robbed a man and woman at gunpoint outside a store.

After examination of the evidence, they found that the conviction was highly based on the testimony of eyewitnesses. The court found that this evidence was flawed, which led to the exoneration of Holmes. Additionally, it was found that Holmes’s car did not match the description of the car that was identified as the getaway car. The car was missing key differences and was likely misidentified.

“I can’t put it into words,” said Sidney Holmes in an interview with WPLG after he was freed on Monday. “It’s overwhelming.”

He continued, “With the Christian faith I have, I can’t have hate, just have to keep moving.”

Holmes initiated this 2 1/2-year investigation after writing to the Innocence Project of Florida to appeal his case, according to Fox News. Additionally, he contacted the State Attorney’s Conviction Review Unit (CRU).

Holmes spoke with CBS Miami about his recent exoneration:

Holmes was greeted by his family outside of Broward’s County Main Jail on Monday.

His mother, Mary, told Fox News that she was “so elated” and “kept praising God”.

The two robbers who committed the crime remain unidentified.

We are so happy that Sidney Holmes is free!!