Florida man serving 400-year prison sentence freed after being exonerated

[Judi Lynn]

Aliza Chasan
Tue, March 14, 2023 at 3:47 PM CDT·2 min read

A man who served more than three decades of a 400-year prison sentence for armed robbery charges was freed Monday after being exonerated. Sidney Holmes, 57, was convicted in April of 1989 for a 1988 robbery in which he was accused of being the getaway driver.

Holmes was greeted by his family as he walked free Monday, and said the first thing he wanted to do was get something to eat, CBS Miami reported.

"We have one rule here at the Broward State Attorney's Office – do the right thing, always. As prosecutors, our only agenda is to promote public safety in our community and to ensure that justice is served," Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor said in a statement. "I commend the victims, witnesses, and law enforcement officers for their candor and assistance in reinvestigating a crime that occurred more than 34 years ago."



Sidney Holmes, 57, cries after he was exonerated in a Broward County courtroom on Monday, March 13, 2023. Holmes served more than 34 years of a 400-year sentence for a 1988 armed robbery. / Credit: Carline Jean/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Holmes had been convicted of acting as the getaway driver for two men who robbed two people at gunpoint and stole one of the victim's car just west of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on June 19, 1988, according to the state attorney's office. The two robbers remain unidentified.

More:
https://news.yahoo.com/florida-man-serving-400-prison-204700549.html

[DFW]

1. Florida must use the Napoleonic code

The accused is guilty until proven innocent.

[Ford_Prefect]

2. They did when he was convicted. It was the southern version wherein the black man is always guilty.

[DFW]

4. My friends in France used to tell me a joke about justice in the USA

Three black guys meet in a prison yard. They start discussing their sentences and their offenses. The first one says he’s in for twenty-five years. The others ask what for? He says he stole a car. The second says he’s in for twenty years. The others ask what for? He says he stole a loaf of bread. The third one says he’s in for fifteen years. The other two ask what for? He says he didn’t do anything at all. The other two say, « Bullshit! If you didn’t do anything at all, you only get ten years! »

[2naSalit]

6. +1

[DeeDeeNY]

3. 400 years for driving a getaway car?

Even if he had done it, seems a bit excessive.

[DFW]

5. On the other hand

It is a glowing assessment by the judge of his life expectancy

[twodogsbarking]

7. Now fix the system.

[RAB910]

8. Why was he sentenced to 400 years for just being a get away driver?

[canuckledragger]

9. How did I know, just by reading the headline alone it was going to be a black person?

They're the only ones I know given ridiculous sentences like this.

And of course it was Florida.