Carmella Bowers and her son Johnnie Boykins are fighting to exonerate Boyers’ son Darren Boykins, who was convicted for the 1981 murder of Milton Laufer in Newark. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor)
A retired attorney fighting to exonerate a Newark man imprisoned for 44 years for a 1981 murder he’s always claimed he did not commit has taken his fight to state court, accusing police, prosecutors, judges, and others of misconduct.
Authorities failed to divulge exculpatory evidence that could have cleared Darren Boykins from suspicion in the May 22, 1981, slaying of carpet salesman Milton Laufer and covered up or dismissed evidence that could have freed Boykins from jail in his post-conviction appeals and parole bids, attorney John Crayton argued in a petition filed in Essex County Superior Court last week. Crayton wants a judge to vacate the conviction…