NEW YORK (AP) — The City of New York is settling lawsuits filed on behalf of two men acquitted last year for the 1965 murder of Malcolm X, and agreed to pay $26 million for the wrongful convictions that led to both men being killed. decades behind bars.
New York State will pay another $10 million. David Shanies, a lawyer representing the men, confirmed the settlements on Sunday.
“Muhammad Aziz, Khalil Islam and their families have suffered these unjust convictions for more than 50 years,” Shanies said in an email. “The city acknowledged the grave injustice that was done here, and I commend the sincerity and speed with which the Comptroller’s Office and the Corporation Counsel have resolved the lawsuits.”
Shanies said the settlements are sending a message that “police and judicial misconduct is causing enormous damage, and that we must remain vigilant to identify and correct injustices.”
Last year, a Manhattan judge overturned the convictions of Aziz, now 84, and Islam, who died in 2009, after prosecutors said new evidence of witness harassment and suppression of exculpatory evidence had undermined the case against the men. Then District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. apologized for the “serious, unacceptable violations of the law and public trust.”
The New York City Legal Department, through a spokesperson on Sunday, said it “stands behind Vance’s view” that the men had been wrongly convicted and that the financial agreement “brings a measure of justice to individuals who have spent decades in the criminal justice system.” have spent time in prison and carried the stigma of being false”. accused of murdering an iconic figure.”
Shanies said the settlement documents will be signed in the coming weeks and the New York court hearing probate cases will have to approve the settlement for the legacy of Islam. The total $36 million will be divided equally between Aziz and the Legacy of Islam.
Aziz and Islam, who maintained their innocence from the start during the 1965 murder in the Audubon Ballroom in Upper Manhattan, were released on parole in the 1980s.
Malcolm X gained national fame as the voice of the Nation of Islam, urging black people to claim their civil rights “by any means necessary.” His autobiography, written with Alex Haley, remains a classic work of modern American literature.
Towards the end of Malcolm X’s life, he separated from the Black Muslim organization and, after a trip to Mecca, began to talk about the potential for racial unity. It brought him the ire of some in the Nation of Islam, who saw him as a traitor.
He was shot dead during a speech on February 21, 1965. He was 39.
Aziz and Islam, then known as Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson, and a third man were convicted of murder in March 1966. They were sentenced to life in prison.
The third man, Mujahid Abdul Halim – aka Talmadge Hayer and Thomas Hagan – admitted to shooting Malcolm X, but said Aziz and Islam were not involved. The two offered alibis and there was no physical evidence linking them to the crime. The case revolved around eyewitnesses, although there were inconsistencies in their testimony.
Attorneys for Aziz and Islam said in complaints that both Aziz and Islam were in their homes in the Bronx when Malcolm X was murdered. They said Aziz spent 20 years in prison and lived more than 55 years with the hardships and humiliation that come with being unfairly branded as a convicted murderer of one of the most important civil rights leaders in history.
Islam spent 22 years in prison and still died hoping to clear his name.
