TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida lawmakers came together to right a wrong after a Broward County man was wrongly imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, and spent 34 years in prison.
When Sidney Holmes stood, every Florida state senator, and in the House, every representative, faced him to cheer.
Holmes was initially released two years ago.
“I know this day was going to come sooner or later and today is the day,” he said at the time.
He was 23 years old in 1989, convicted of armed robbery outside a Fort Lauderdale convenience store and sentenced to 400 years in prison.
Convicted despite a lack of physical evidence, despite his alibi and despite maintaining that he was innocent.
“Unfortunately no one believed him,” said Seth Miller, Executive Director of the Innocence Project of Florida.
No one believed him until in 2023 the Broward State Attorney’s Office conviction review unit reached a different conclusion.
“Ultimately all of us came to the same conclusion that this man was wrongfully convicted, that this man shouldn’t have been in prison and we needed to get him out right now,” said Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor.
At 57 years old, after living behind bars for 34 of those years, Holmes was free.
Earlier this week, the state compensated him for its life-altering error.
Passing the Florida House and Senate unanimously was a $1.7 million claims bill for Holmes.
“I want to apologize and say as far as we can offer you this slightest of gestures,” said State Sen. Jason Pizzo.
