A Broward County judge acquitted 57-year-old Sidney Holmes after serving nearly 35 of his 400-year sentence for a 1988 armed robbery he maintained he didn’t commit.
Circuit Judge Edward Merrigan ordered his release due to being wrongfully convicted, thanks to the help of Broward attorneys Harold Pryor and Brandon Scheck. Seth Miller, the executive director of the Innocence Project of Florida, helped in the 2.5-year investigation.
Breaking News: IPF Client Sidney Holmes exonerated after 34 years in wrongfully incarcerated for a 1988 Broward County armed robbery he did not commit. This was a result of a collaborative reinvestigation of the case with the Broward County Conviction Review Unit.
— Innocence Project of FL (@FLA_Innocence) March 13, 2023
Sidney Holmes & his attorneys Brandon Scheck and Seth Miller will be appearing in courtroom NW 6870, Broward County Courthouse, Fort Lauderdale, FL, in front of The Honorable Circuit Judge Edward Merrigan, today March 13, 2023, at 02:00 PM, for the oral pronouncement of relief.
— Innocence Project of FL (@FLA_Innocence) March 13, 2023
Homes became emotional in the courtroom after learning he was walking out a free man.
Family members who waited outside yelped joyfully after seeing their formerly-imprisoned family member finally free.
“I [knew] this day was going to come, sooner or later,” Holmes told WPLG. “Today is the day.
In 1988, a Broward courtroom gave Holmes a guilty verdict for being the driver of an armed robbery, sentencing him to 400 years in prison.
However, Holmes’ attorneys and the IPF found many flaws in his case.
According to a court document News Onyx obtained, Vincent Wright and Anissia Johnson stopped at a One Stop convenience store to fill the back tire with air on June 19, 1988.
Wright told investigators at the time that two Black men approached him “out of nowhere” and told him to “give it up” while the other man instructed his partner to “shoot him.”
The men weren’t satisfied when Wright informed them he had no money. Then, one of the men walked to the passenger side, where Johnson sat, and asked for “the money.” Johnson told the robber the same thing.
Wright reported to investigators that a third perpetrator was in a brown car that pulled up behind them. While Wright recalled the third perpetrator, Johnson didn’t know there was another person.
Johnson exited the vehicle, and the two robbers hopped in and took off. Wright caught a ride from a friend while Johnson waited for the police.
One thing to note, Holmes’ representation didn’t suspect any ill intentions from looking at the 1988 investigation. They believed the investigators were following basic protocol. Holmes’ conviction stemmed from misidentification.
For starters, the only thing that Holmes had in common with the perpetrators was that he was 23 during his conviction. Johnson recalled the two perpetrators being in their 20s.
Johnson’s 1988 testimony didn’t mention the driver, but when the new investigation opened, she recalled the driver being heavyset.
Wright and Johnson testified that the driver didn’t get out and described him as a heavyset Black man. Wright had more descriptive details about the driver’s appearance.
Wright, who was 5-foot-8 then, said the driver appeared to be no taller than 5-foot-6 and about 170 pounds. Holmes was 6 feet and 183 pounds at the time.
Additionally, Wright remembered the brown car having a hole where the trunk’s keyhole would be. When the male victim and his brother attempted to find the brown car, they spotted Holmes’ car and assumed it was it since the trunk lock looked “fixed.”
Investigators had the victims look at the photo lineup twice, which included a photo of Holmes. The first time, Holmes wasn’t identified, but the second time, Wright identified him as the driver.
Months later, Wright identified Holmes from a live lineup at the jail. But Holmes was the only one to show up in the lineup multiple times.
“Ultimately, all of us came to the same conclusion that his man was wrongfully convicted and this man should not have been in prison, and we needed to get him out right now,” Pryor told WPLG.
Now that Holmes is out, he’s focused on having a fresh start and has no hard feelings toward anyone.
“With the Christian faith I have, I can’t have hate. Just have to keep moving,” Holmes said.
The first thing he wanted to do after his release was eat.
