Acts 25:25
But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him. But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him.
Festus's verdict on Paul was that he had committed nothing worthy of death, finding no basis for putting him to death and no offense in him deserving death. Because Paul himself had appealed to Augustus, also called Caesar, Festus determined that he had to send him to Rome. The decision to send him to Augustus followed that appeal after the declaration that he had done nothing deserving death.
The accusations Festus had in view were disputes about Jewish religious matters and about Jesus, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. He reached his conclusion of innocence despite the demand and pressure of Paul's Jewish accusers that he die, resisting them in an effort to administer justice. This stands against the Jewish tribunals, which condemned Paul without proving his guilt, while Roman magistrates had repeatedly declared him innocent. Lysias, Felix, Festus, and Agrippa had all declared Paul innocent, and his trial was further delayed because his accusers did not promptly appear.
The delay in finding a ship and in arranging the cases of the other prisoners gave Paul time to present the reasons for his faith before the leading men of Caesarea and King Agrippa II. Paul was imprisoned for the sake of the gospel even though found innocent, and by his case being brought before rulers the gospel was heard by princes and nobles. Paul was held in chains and sent toward a criminal's death though he had done nothing deserving it, an example of faith in God's word standing against human power and policies that support evil. God used Festus's just decision to preserve Paul's life.