WilmerHale Proves Justice Works… Even If It Takes Some Time!
On November 19, 2025, a federal jury in Rochester, New York, delivered what is widely believed to be the largest individual wrongful-conviction verdict in U.S. history—an $80 million award to the Estate of Darryl Boyd. This decision marked the culmination of nearly five decades of frustration, injustice, and unrelenting legal battle over Boyd’s wrongful conviction in a 1976 murder case that became one of the most notorious examples of prosecutorial misconduct and police abuse in Western New York.
Boyd was one of the so-called “Buffalo Five,” a group of five Black teenagers arrested in 1976 in connection with the robbery and murder of William Crawford in his Buffalo home. Though he maintained his innocence, Boyd was convicted in 1977 at age 16 and sentenced to 20-to-life imprisonment, a term he would serve in full before his release on parole decades later.
For years, Boyd insisted the system had failed him. He fought tirelessly, even as the evidence against him unraveled. His efforts, joined by fellow exoneree John Walker Jr., ultimately led to the 2021 decision by State Supreme Court Justice Christopher Burns to vacate his conviction and dismiss the indictment, acknowledging that prosecutors had withheld evidence and suppressed exculpatory material crucial to both defendants’ innocence.
Boyd’s death from pancreatic cancer in February 2025 prevented him from witnessing the final chapter of his quest for justice, but it could not stop it. After his passing, Kathleen Wepnner, as Executor of his estate, pressed forward with the civil rights lawsuit Boyd and Walker had filed in 2022 against the County of Erie and the City of Buffalo, contending that police and prosecutors engaged in misconduct that violated their constitutional rights.
Presiding over the case in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York was Judge Meredith A. Vacca, who had guided proceedings from early motions through to trial. While detailed transcripts of her instructions to the jury remain part of the record, it was under her authority that the jury ultimately deliberated after a two-and-a-half-week trial and returned its resounding verdict in favor of Boyd’s estate.
The legal team representing Boyd’s estate was led by Ross Firsenbaum, a partner at WilmerHale, working on a pro bono basis. Firsenbaum’s leadership, alongside a constellation of dedicated WilmerHale attorneys—including Gideon Hanft, Erin Hughes, Phoebe Silos, Trena Riley, and Melissa Zubizarreta—was central to unraveling decades of official misconduct and crafting a compelling narrative of systemic injustice for the jury.
Joining WilmerHale were seasoned civil rights advocates from The Law Offices of Joel B. Rudin P.C. in New York City and Spencer Durland of Hoover & Durland in Buffalo. Together, this formidable coalition pieced together evidence showing how police coerced a key witness and prosecutors failed to disclose at least 19 items of Brady material that would have undercut the government’s case and pointed to other, more plausible suspects.
On the opposing side, the County of Erie defended its actions through counsel from the County Attorney’s Office, maintaining that the decades-old conduct did not warrant the extraordinary damages sought and signaling plans to appeal the verdict immediately after the award was announced. The attorneys for Erie argued that the $80 million figure was excessive and planned post-trial motions to reduce the judgment before pursuing appellate review.
For Boyd, the verdict represented more than a monetary sum—it was a formal vindication of his long-held claim that he was innocent of a crime he did not commit. For his family, community, and lawyers, it underscored the human cost of wrongful convictions and the resilience required to overcome them. Testifying in support of Boyd’s legacy at trial was Walker, now wheelchair-bound and himself the recipient of a $28 million verdict earlier in 2025, who spoke eloquently about Boyd’s belief that justice could eventually prevail if given the chance.
The jury’s swift decision—less than an hour of deliberation after weeks of testimony—signals how powerfully Boyd’s story, supported by meticulous legal work, resonated with jurors. Though Boyd never lived to see this moment, the verdict stands as a powerful testament to his determination and the tireless work of his counsel to finally secure the justice he deserved.