The man had been definitively sentenced to 400 years in prison for armed robbery , but was later cleared and released from prison after more than 30 years. It happened in Florida , United States of America:
Sidney Holmes , 57, has returned free after being falsely accused in 1989 . The release came after the Florida Crimes Review Bureau reviewed his case. His ordeal began in 1988 when one of the victims of an armed robbery told police that an Oldsmobile Cutlass stopped behind her car near a convenience store and two people came out pointing a gun at him. The witness also claimed that a man described as short and of large build was behind the wheel of the car. Holmes had a similar model of car and unfortunately the brother of one of the victims said he saw it a few weeks after the robbery at the wheel of an Oldsmobile Cutlassfrom the 70s, a rather common model in the late 70s and early 80s:
Based on that testimony, the police immediately tightened the circle around Holmes, among other things about one meter and 80 tall and therefore not short. He also had a record of being the driver in two armed robberies in 1984 . The prosecution at the time asked for an 825-year sentence, reduced by the judge to 400 years. Holmes was convicted despite the fact that there were also six people able to testify that on the day of the robbery he was at his parents’ house to celebrate Father’s Day (in the US in the month of June, ed). After the request to reopen the case, the Crime Review Office also determined that Holmes was misidentified. According to Giovanni D’Agata , president of the “ Rights Office”, a truth has finally emerged, which is always the procedural truth that we would all like to coincide with the real one. Video links:
