Attorneys for Erie County are planning to appeal an $80 million court judgment.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz confirmed Thursday a judge recently ruled against the county in a lawsuit from the estate of Darryl Boyd.
Before his death earlier this year, Boyd was a member of the “Buffalo Five,” a group of men wrongfully convicted in the 1976 murder of William Crawford. Boyd was just 16 years old at the time.
He spent nearly three decades behind bars before being released on parole. A judge overturned the conviction in 2021 and Boyd filed a lawsuit the following year, alleging the Erie County District Attorney’s Office withheld evidence in the case.
“If we were to pay it out of the operating budget, we’d have to dramatically raise taxes or cut many services, significantly,” Poloncarz said. “If we were to borrow it, we’d have to pay a judgment bond, which means it would be more than $80 million in the long run. With interest, it would probably be $100 million.”