Darryl Boyd, member of “Buffalo Five” exonerated in 2021, dies
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Darryl Boyd, a member of the “Buffalo Five” who served nearly three decades in prison before being exonerated in 2021 for a wrongful conviction in a 1976 murder, has died.
Boyd died on Wednesday, the East Side Collaborative Partnership said.
Boyd was wrongfully convicted for the 1976 murder of William Crawford on Buffalo’s East Side in 1976, when he was 16 years old. John Walker was the other teen convicted and he ended up serving 21 years in prison.
Community advocates spent years trying to exonerate Boyd and Walker, before Buffalo attorney Paul Cambria picked up the case in 2020, which saw the conviction thrown out in August 2021. There was no physical or forensic evidence linking them to the case. Years later, witness testimony was recanted and claims were made that police didn’t share information crucial to the murder.
City of Buffalo lawmakers approved $8.6 million to Boyd and Walker last year to settle a lawsuit related to the wrongful conviction.
“He and John waged their extremely inspiring and courageous battle to free themselves, and the wrongful New York State conviction that stole over 40 years of their lives,” the East Side Collaborative Partnership said in a letter to media early Thursday morning. “That awesome walk of faith will forever stand as an invaluable lesson to us all.”
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Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.
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