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Buffalo Five members hear oral arguments on motion to vacate murder convictions

Buffalo Five member Darryl Boyd stands outside of the Erie County Courthouse
Thomas O'Neil-White
Buffalo Five member Darryl Boyd stands outside of the Erie County Courthouse

Members of the Buffalo Five were back in State Supreme Court Tuesday morning to hear oral arguments on the motion to vacate their decades old murder convictions.

A point of contention for the attorney’s for Darryl Boyd and Jonathan Walker is missing crime scene photos attorneys say point to a single assailant in the 1976 murder of William Crawford on Fillmore Avenue. Supporters believe the missing photos and eye witness testimony will support the defendants alibis.

Walker spent 22 years in prison and 18 years of parole while Boyd spent 28 years in prison and remains on lifetime parole.

Despite the somberness of the proceedings, Boyd says he is in good spirits about the eventual outcome.

“I’m optimistic, but we just have to see,” he said. “You know, I've been on a lot of up and down roller coasters, a lot of elevators up and down a lot of stairs up and down. So again, do I want another ride on that, to the bottom? No.”

A written decision on the status of the convictions from Erie County Supreme Court Judge Christopher Burns is forthcoming, but Burns would not specify as to a date and time for his decision.

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