Two members of the Buffalo 5 continue to fight to have their names cleared from a 1976 murder. They were at a court hearing Wednesday morning seeking a motion to vacate their original indictment.
Nervously confident is how John Walker described his hearing before Judge Christopher Burns. Walker and Darryl Boyd are members of the Buffalo 5, a group of Black teenage boys charged with the murder of William Crawford in 1976. Despite serving a combined 50 years in jail for the murder, Walker and Boyd continue to maintain their innocence.
They believe evidence which was withheld at their 1977 trial will be the key to having their original indictment vacated and their names officially cleared.
Speaking at the State Supreme Courthouse after his hearing was adjourned, Walker was hopeful he would be fully vindicated.
“I feel real good about it,” he said. “I’m nervous of course because I realize that if it don’t happen this time, it’ll probably never happen. I’m kind of nervous about that.”
At the heart the motion is the defense’s claim of photos from the murder scene which will clear their clients. The photos, allegedly showing only two sets of prints, those of the victim and the killer, were used to acquit another member of the 5. Defense Attorney Paul Cambria said the photos just need to be found.
“Well the photographs we’ve been given appear to be ones after people came onto the scene and changed the scene,” he said. “We’re looking for the photographs initially of the scene, before everyone walked on it and so on. Those are photographs we were told exist and those are the ones we’re looking for.”
Even without that bit of evidence, Walker said there are witnesses who can testify to his and Boyd’s innocence. Walker has completed his parole period while Boyd remains on parole. They are due back in court on the 20th of January.
