Florida Man Who Was Wrongfully Convicted For Robbery Walks Free After 34 Years In Jail

A wrongful conviction took away three decades of a man’s life in Florida. However, the sun shone again when he finally got his freedom back after being proven innocent. Sidney Holmes, a native of Florida, was wrongly accused of an armed robbery in 1988.?

Florida Man Wrongfully Accused Walks Free After 3 Decades In Jail

Twitter

Charges against Holmes were finally exonerated after he spent almost 34 years of his life in prison for a crime he did not commit. In a statement to the non-profit Innocence Project of Florida, Holmes said, “I always believed that this day would come, and I never lost hope.” He talked about his family and added, “I am looking forward to embracing my mother in the outside world for the first time in more than 34 years.”

The NGO helped prove Holmes’ innocence and get him out of jail. On Monday, the 57-year-old breathed the fresh air without restraints and bad blood on his hands. He was released from the Fort Lauderdale prison in Florida—Holmes was accused of being the getaway driver during the June 1988 armed robbery.

Holmes maintained his innocence all this time and even contacted the State Attorney's Conviction Review Unit (CRU) in 2020. Reviewing his case, the CRU soon realised that the eyewitness identification was likely inaccurate. His case became more robust when the CRU discovered that the presumably flawed label was the only evidence connecting him to the issue. Besides that, there was not much that would hold ground in court.

A Video Of Holmes Reuniting With His Family Has Gone Viral

Twitter

The brother of the robbery victim also investigated the case. He found that Holmes’ car was also likely misidentified at the time, making it seem like he was the getaway driver for the robbers, leading to his wrongful life sentence.

During the review of his case in court, five out of six panellists voted for the man to get his freedom back and were in favour of his innocence. Moreover, even the victims in the case were on Holmes’ side and believed that he should be freed. Deputies involved in the original case were in disbelief the man had served three decades for a crime he did not commit.?

A video of Holmes reuniting with his family is circulating on the internet. In the clip, he is seen walking out in a clean white shirt reminiscent of his innocence and is captured lunging into the arms of his family members after serving a wrongful conviction for the better part of his life.

For more trending stories, follow us on?Telegram.