A former prosecutor and retired State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Drury says the county had poor legal representation and should not settle “Buffalo 5” cases.

ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. — Retired State Supreme Court Justice, and former assistant District Attorney, Timothy Drury is urging Erie County not to settle one of the “Buffalo 5” verdicts that are currently under appeal.

Last year the estate of Darryl Boyd, as well as John Walker Jr. were awarded a collective $108 million for their wrongful conviction related to the murder of William Crawford in 1976. 

Boyd,  Darren Gibson, and Walker and were convicted of murder in 1977 and spent decades in prison. 

At the time, Judge Drury was the assistant District Attorney that prosecuted the case. 50 years later, he stands by the investigation and his handling of the case. 

“I stand by those convictions,” Drury said. “There was nothing improper.”

“There was no coercion done to  these various witnesses,” Drury continued. “As I said, the the one witness, the one who turned the state’s evidence, as it’s called, repeated the same story seven different times, and then, when he  was reached much later, 40 years later, he then flip flopped.”

In 2021, the convictions were overturned, igniting civil wrongful conviction lawsuits against the county and city of Buffalo. 

Judge Drury was a witness during the 2021 trial. 

“Here I am testifying as a witness, testifying strongly of all what I felt about what  the trial was 50, years ago,” Drury said. “I testified that justice was done and these people were duly and properly convicted and but I wasn’t being helped at all by my lawyers.”

The city settled the Boyd and Walker lawsuits in 2024, with each of them receiving $4.35M.

The county is pursuing appeals in both cases.

Last month, Erie Co. Executive Mark Poloncarz announced he would recommend using surplus funds to settle one of the lawsuits, rather than continue the appeal. 

The county executive is proposing the county settle with the Walker estate for $21M. The proposal will be discussed at the County Legislature meeting on May 7. 

However, Judge Drury is urging Erie County to not settle the cases.

Judge Drury, in a letter to Erie Co. attorney Jeremy Toth, said that the attorney’s representing the county were “outlawyered.” Drury told 2 On Your Side that they should be fired. 

“Get new lawyers,” Drury told 2 On Your Side. “I’m not saying vindictively, but just get competent lawyers.”

“I can tell you, from my experience, this was not handled correctly,” Drury continued. “They weren’t good lawyers.”

Drury credited the attorney’s representing the Boyd and Walker estate, saying that they brought in good experts and “got to the jury about injustice.”

As for the attorney’s representing the county, Drury said he’s basing his opinion on his 36 years as a judge. 

“They were over their head,” Drury said. “They should have called expert witnesses. They should have had lawyers that had been handled cases like this.”

2 On Your Side reached out to the County Executive’s Office for comment, but did not receive a response.