Sidney Holmes, a South Florida man sentenced to 400 years in prison, has been found not guilty and compensated with $1.7 million (N2.5 billion) after he had already spent 34 years behind bars.
Many years after Holmes’ guilty verdict, Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor investigated the case as part of his office’s Conviction Review Unit and found out the now 59-year-old is innocent.
How Sidney Holmes was convicted
NBC Miami reported that Holmes was wrongly convicted of being the getaway driver in a 1988 robbery near Fort Lauderdale. A jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to 400 years.
“The identification of the actual driver was actually broad; it was vague in a sense, and really, the only identifying factor was that there was a yellow automobile, and at that time, in the late 80s, if you look at the history of the yellow automobile, it was the most common vehicle in the United States at that time,” Pryor said.
Speaking to NBC 6, Holmes said he was at home and had no knowledge of the robbery or any similar incident.
Holmes, who was 23 at the time of his conviction, admitted he thought he would die in prison.
“I turned anger into success. 1I took anger, and I educated myself; I got a degree, I got a theology degree, I got pr, legal services degree, and I got a computer certification,” he explained.
In March 2023, Holmes was released but was not compensated, despite a Florida law that provides $50,000 (N76 million) for every year spent in prison to those wrongfully convicted, due to his prior criminal history.
However, a claims bill was earlier passed in 2025, and Governor Ron DeSantis signed and approved a $1.7 million (N2.5 billion) payment for Holmes.
An organisation gave Holmes $8,000 (N12 million) worth of items from his Amazon wish list and $5,000 (N7.6 million) in donations. He had also tied the knot, secured two new jobs, and purchased a home, CBS News reported.
It is noteworthy that Holmes contacted the Broward County State Attorney’s Office in 2020 to plead his innocence.
