FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Tavares Hutchinson is finally a free man after spending 26½ years in prison for a crime he did not commit.

Hutchinson was sentenced to life in prison in 2000 after a jury convicted him of robbing a man at gunpoint in Fort Lauderdale, taking his wedding ring and gold chain. From the start, Hutchinson insisted he was innocent.

“There’s absolutely no guarantee in this,” said Brandon Scheck, Hutchinson’s attorney with the Innocence Project of Florida. “Once someone is convicted, it’s very hard — especially on a life sentence — to get off from that.”

Hutchinson reached out to the Broward State Attorney’s Office seeking help, which led prosecutors to collaborate with the Innocence Project. After two years of reinvestigating the case, attorneys uncovered evidence supporting Hutchinson’s innocence.

“We talked to the victim, who tells us very candidly that he misidentified Tavares,” Scheck said. “There’s other evidence to support that.”

Although Hutchinson has been released, the robbery conviction remains on his record. Scheck said there may be future efforts to have it overturned.

Scheck described the two-year process as emotionally challenging, but said Hutchinson’s determination never wavered.

“It’s very hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “Tavares is a man of great faith. He believes in himself and he knows the truth — that he didn’t commit this crime. And he really believed in us.”

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