A Florida man who was serving a 400-year prison sentence is now a free man after his case was reexamined, Fox13 reported.
Sidney Holmes, 57, was convicted of aiding and abetting a 1988 robbery in Fort Lauderdale by driving the getaway vehicle and spent 34 years in prison. But a review of his case found that evidence in his case mostly consisted of flawed eyewitness accounts.
"As prosecutors, our only agenda is to promote public safety in our community and to ensure that justice is served," Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor said in a statement. "I commend the victims, witnesses, and law enforcement officers for their candor and assistance in reinvestigating a crime that occurred more than 34 years ago."
"There is no evidence tying Mr. Holmes to the robbery other than a flawed identification," Assistant State Attorney Arielle Demby Berger told reporters. "No fingerprints, no physical evidence. Nothing but one witness ID that we believe was a bad ID."
The investigation in his case started two-and-half years ago when Holmes, who had always maintained his innocence, wrote to the Innocence Project of Florida to appeal his case.
Five of six independent panelists looked at the Innocence Project's findings and voted that Holmes was innocent and his conviction should be immediately overturned.
“There was no physical or scientific evidence, nor any corroborating witnesses, linking Mr. Holmes to the crime,” according to the Innocence Project.
"I’m going to find something to eat," Holmes told reporters after walking out of prison and reuniting with his family. "I can’t have hate. I just have to keep moving."
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