Sidney Holmes, an African American has been freed after serving more than 34 years of a 400-year prison sentence after the state of Florida reinvestigated the case and determined that he did not commit armed robbery.
On Tuesday, a thorough re-investigation of the 1988 armed robbery case that led to Holmes’ conviction “raised reasonable doubts about his guilt,” according to Broward County State Attorney Harold F. Pryor, ABC News reported.
Pryor said that Holmes was arrested in October 1988 for allegedly being the driver for two unidentified men who robbed a man and woman outside a store at gunpoint. The car of the male victim was stolen by two unidentified men.
In April 1989, he was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to 400 years in prison. At the time, prosecutors asked the judge to sentence him to 825 years in prison.
The Conviction Review Unit determined that there is no evidence linking Holmes to the robbery other than an incorrect identification of him and the vehicle used in the robbery.