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Malcolm X murder: Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam to get $36M after being wrongfully convicted

On 21 February 1965, Malcolm X was fatally shot during his speech, and a year later in 1966, Aziz and Islam were convicted of his murder

BY ARUNAVA CHAKRABARTY

PUBLISHED OCT 31, 2022

Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam were sentenced to life in prison (Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images and YouTube/Eyewitness News ABC7NY)

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: The city of New York has agreed to pay $26 million in lawsuit settlements filed on behalf of two men exonerated last year in the 1965 assassination of civil rights leader Malcolm X, their attorney, David Shanies said on Sunday, October 30. The state of New York will pay an additional $10 million over the wrongful conviction of Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam, for which they had to spend decades behind bars.

“Muhammad Aziz, Khalil Islam, and their families suffered because of these unjust convictions for more than 50 years,” said Shanies in an email, according to the Guardian. He said the settlements sent a message that “police and prosecutorial misconduct cause tremendous damage, and we must remain vigilant to identify and correct injustices”. Aziz was paroled in 1985 and Islam, who died in 2009, was released from prison in 1987. The total settlement of $36M would be divided equally between 84-year-old Aziz and the estate of Islam.

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A Manhattan judge dismissed the convictions of Aziz and Islam after prosecutors said new evidence of witness intimidation and suppression of exculpatory evidence had undermined the case against the men. The settlement documents will be signed over the next few weeks, the attorney said. He also added the New York court that handles probate matters will have to approve the settlement for Islam’s estate.

A picture of Malcolm X is included in a Brooklyn mural of iconic civil rights leaders on November 18, 2021 in New York City. In a Manhattan court room, Muhammad Aziz had his conviction in the killing of Malcolm X thrown out. Manhattan judge Judge Ellen Biben granted the motion to vacate the conviction against Muhammad A. Aziz and the late Khalil Islam in the 1965 assassination of the civil rights leader in New York. While both men have always denied being involved in his death, an investigation has found new evidence that the men were not involved with the killing. — A picture of Malcolm X is included in a Brooklyn mural of iconic civil rights leaders on November 18, 2021, in New York City (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

"This settlement brings some measure of justice to individuals who spent decades in prison and bore the stigma of being falsely accused of murdering an iconic figure," a spokesperson for the city's law department told CBS News in a statement. "Based on our review, this office stands by the opinion of former Manhattan District Attorney Vance who stated, based on his investigation, that 'there is one ultimate conclusion: Mr. Aziz and Mr. Islam were wrongfully convicted of this crime.'"

Muhammad Aziz stands outside of a New York City courthouse with members of his family and lawyers after his conviction in the killing of Malcolm X was thrown out on November 18, 2021 in New York City. Manhattan judge Judge Ellen Biben granted the motion to vacate the conviction against Muhammad A. Aziz and the late Khalil Islam in the 1965 assassination of the civil rights leader in New York. While both men have always denied being involved in his death, an investigation has found new evidence that the men were not involved with the killing. — Muhammad Aziz stands outside of a New York City courthouse with members of his family and lawyers after his conviction in the killing of Malcolm X was thrown out on November 18, 2021, in New York City (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Who killed Malcolm X?

Malcolm X rose to national prominence as the voice of the Nation of Islam that espoused Black separatism. He spoke about the potential for racial unity after a trip to Mecca before leaving the organization in 1964 and angering some of its followers. On 21 February 1965, he was fatally shot while beginning a speech. He was 39. A year later in 1966, Aziz and Islam, then known as Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson, and a third man were convicted of murder. They were sentenced to life in prison.

American civil rights activist Malcolm X (1925 - 1965) speaks at a podium during a Black Muslim rally in Washington DC, circa 1963. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The third man, Mujahid Abdul Halim, also known as Talmadge Hayer and Thomas Hagan, admitted to shooting Malcolm X but said neither Aziz nor Islam was involved. Aziz and Islam were reportedly at their homes in the Bronx when Malcolm X was killed. Their attorneys said Aziz spent 20 years in prison and more than 5 decades being wrongly tagged as a murderer of one of the most important civil rights leaders in history. Islam spent 22 years in prison and died still hoping to clear his name.