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'I never lost hope': Judge exonerates South Florida man in prison for nearly 35 years
Miami HeraldNo paywall
After spending nearly 35 years behind bars in South Florida, Sidney Holmes will be a free man.
The 57-year-old was exonerated Monday after a wrongful conviction for a 1988 armed robbery in Broward County. Family members caressed each other as they shed tears of joy in Courtroom 6870 of the judicial complex in Fort Lauderdale following Circuit Judge Edward Merrigan’s order authorizing Holmes to be let out of prison.
He is expected to be released from the the county’s Main Jail within hours. He had been moved there from Everglades Correctional Institution in West Miami-Dade.
“There is no evidence tying Mr. Holmes to the robbery other than a flawed identification,” said Arielle Demby Berger, assistant state attorney for the 17th Judicial Circuit. “No fingerprints, no physical evidence. Nothing but one witness ID that we, your honor, believe was a bad ID.”
If the Lauderhill man hadn’t been exonerated, he would’ve likely spent the rest of his life in prison serving a 400-year sentence. He was 23 at the time of his arrest.
Tears streamed down Mary Holmes’ face as she glanced at her son in the courtroom Monday. He was stunned as the judge overturned his conviction and sentence. “
I was so elated,” Mary said. “I just kept praising God.”
The 57-year-old was exonerated Monday after a wrongful conviction for a 1988 armed robbery in Broward County. Family members caressed each other as they shed tears of joy in Courtroom 6870 of the judicial complex in Fort Lauderdale following Circuit Judge Edward Merrigan’s order authorizing Holmes to be let out of prison.
He is expected to be released from the the county’s Main Jail within hours. He had been moved there from Everglades Correctional Institution in West Miami-Dade.
“There is no evidence tying Mr. Holmes to the robbery other than a flawed identification,” said Arielle Demby Berger, assistant state attorney for the 17th Judicial Circuit. “No fingerprints, no physical evidence. Nothing but one witness ID that we, your honor, believe was a bad ID.”
If the Lauderhill man hadn’t been exonerated, he would’ve likely spent the rest of his life in prison serving a 400-year sentence. He was 23 at the time of his arrest.
Tears streamed down Mary Holmes’ face as she glanced at her son in the courtroom Monday. He was stunned as the judge overturned his conviction and sentence. “
I was so elated,” Mary said. “I just kept praising God.”
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