New York to pay $36mln to men wrongly convicted of Malcolm X murder
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Aziz, now 84, and Islam, who passed away in 2009, had their convictions dismissed following the emergence of evidence regarding witness intimidation and impediment of exculpatory evidence.
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Black Nationalism activist Malcolm X (NPR)
The city of New York is due to pay a whopping $26 million in restitution to two men who were not just wrongfully convicted for the murder of Malcolm X but were sentenced to life behind bars with no sufficient evidence.
The two men were acquitted last year after being charged with the 1965 assassination of the civil rights activist. David Shanies, the lawyer representing the men, confirmed on Sunday that the state of New York will pay an additional $10 million.
In an email, Shanies stated, “Muhammad Aziz, Khalil Islam, and their families suffered because of these unjust convictions for more than 50 years." According to the attorney, the settlements served a lesson that “police and prosecutorial misconduct cause tremendous damage, and we must remain vigilant to identify and correct injustices."
Aziz, now 84, and Islam, who passed away in 2009, had their convictions dismissed following the emergence of evidence regarding witness intimidation and impediment of exculpatory evidence (proof that would exonerate the defendants and prove them innocent).
The New York Times last year said a 22-month investigation conducted jointly by the Manhattan district attorney's office and lawyers for the two men found that prosecutors, the FBI, and the New York Police Department withheld evidence that would likely have led to the acquittal of the two men.
Shanies announced that settlement documents are due to be signed, with a total of $36 million to be divided equally between Aziz and the estate left behind by Islam.
Malcolm X became the voice of the Nation of Islam as he addressed African-Americans to claim their civil rights, famously known through his phrase, “by any means necessary."
After the activist was suspended from the Nation of Islam for rhetorical differences, he parted ways with the organization that saw him as a traitor after he spoke of the potential for racial unity during his trip to Mecca. On February 21, 1965, as he was beginning a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in New York, Malcolm X was shot, with his pregnant wife and four daughters taking cover in the front row.
Aziz, known as Norman 3X Butler, and Islam, then known as Thomas 15X Johnson, were convicted in March of 1966, but a third man was also later found to be involved. All three members were part of the Nation of Islam.
Mujahid Abdul Halim, known as Talmadge Hayer or Thomas Hagan, confessed to gunning down the activist and stated that neither Aziz nor Islam was involved in the assassination. Alibis as to their whereabouts were provided during their testimonies, and although there were inconsistencies in their affidavits, no physical and sufficient evidence linked them to the crime.
The alibis, disclosed by the attorneys for Aziz and Islam, showed that Aziz and Islam were at their residences in the Bronx, New York, at the time Malcolm X was killed. Islam died fighting to clear his name for 22 years in prison, and Aziz spent 20 years locked up and more than 55 years unjustly tarnished as a convicted killer of one of history's most prominent civil rights leaders and outspoken supporter of Palestine.
