How many prisoners in the criminal justice system are wrongly convicted? While an exact number is not readily available, the truth is that far too many people are locked away behind bars without having committed a crime. Now, one Florida man named Sidney Holmes, 57, has been released from his four hundred-year prison sentence after serving thirty-four years behind bars because the state of Florida reinvestigated the armed robbery case he was convicted for and found him to be as innocent as a butterfly.

Once Holmes was released from prison, his elderly mother hugged him and broke down in tears. His release from prison was a long time coming after Holmes was misidentified in a lineup for a carjacking held back in 1988. Because of the misinformation in the case, the state of Florida jury convicted Holmes of armed robbery in April 1989 and held him at the Broward County Main Jail in Florida for decades until he was finally released on Monday for never having committed the crime he was convicted for.

Holmes became the target of Florida law enforcement following the armed robbery because he just so happened to be driving a vehicle that looked similar to one used during a carjacking the week prior. The carjacking was a violent one because the suspect used a firearm to threaten the life of the person behind the wheel of the car.

Back in 2020, Holmes and his legal team contacted the State Attorney’s Office Conviction Review Unit to confirm that the innocent inmate was “factually innocent.” This led prosecutors to take another look at Holmes’s case and was easily able to confirm that he was not responsible for the crime he was sentenced to prison for four hundred years for.

Although Holmes could have been holding onto a lot of hate for the state of Florida, he confirmed that he was not holding any grudge upon his release from prison.

“I can’t have hate,” he said. “Just have to keep moving.”

After Holmes was arrested by Florida authorities in 1988, six people came forward to testify that Holmes had been at his parents’ home at the time of the carjacking and, therefore, he had nothing to do with the crime. In addition, the victim failed to at first identify Holmes as the driver from a six-photo lineup. Only during a later lineup with the help of Florida authorities did the victim choose Holmes’s image. Florida authorities made sure to include Holmes in many lineups until he was selected.

Although there was little evidence to suggest Holmes committed the carjacking, he was found guilty and sentenced to four hundred years in prison. Prosecutors had originally asked to lock up Holmes for 825 years because he had previous convictions for armed robbery from 1984.

In Florida, exonerees like Holmes are supposed to be compensated $50,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment. Unfortunately, Florida is not paying out, sharing the wealth with only ten of eighty-four innocent people who have been released from jail.