Convicted Killers of Malcolm X to be Exonerated 

Muhammad A. Aziz and Khalil Islam, two of the men found guilty of the assassination of Malcolm X, are expected to have their convictions thrown out after spending more than 20 years in prison, a remarkable acknowledgment of grave errors made in the infamous murder case, reports the New York Times.

A 22-month investigation conducted jointly by the Manhattan district attorney’s office and lawyers for the two men found that prosecutors and two of the nation’s premier law enforcement agencies — the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York Police Department — had withheld key evidence that, had it been turned over, would likely have led to the men’s acquittal.

The review, prompted by a recent documentary and a new biography, reveals that the two men were themselves victims of the very discrimination and injustice that Malcolm X denounced in language that has echoed across the decades. Mujahid Abdul Halim, a member of the New Jersey chapter of the Nation of Islam who confessed to the murder in trial, and whose guilt and conviction stands, has maintained that the other two men were innocent. Manhattan district attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. apologized on behalf of law enforcement, which he said had failed the families of the two men.

Vance’s re-investigation, conducted with the Innocence Project and the office of David Shanies, a civil rights lawyer, contended with the fact that many of the witnesses, investigators, and trial lawyers are now dead, the loss of key documents to time, and an inability to test physical evidence that was no longer available.

However, significant FBI documents included information that implicated other suspects and pointed away from Islam and Mr. Aziz. Prosecutors’ notes indicate they failed to disclose the presence of undercover officers in the ballroom at the time of the shooting. And Police Department files revealed that a reporter for The New York Daily News received a call the morning of the shooting indicating that Malcolm X would be murdered.

Altogether, the re-investigation found that had the new evidence been presented to a jury, it may well have led to acquittals. One of the most significant weaknesses in the government’s case, the review found, was Halim’s confession and his assertion that his co-defendants were innocent.

The exonerations are “long overdue,” said Bryan Stevenson a civil rights lawyer and the founder of the Equal Justice initiative.

“This is one of the most prominent figures of the 20th century who commanded enormous attention and respect. And yet, our system failed.”