Two men who served decades in prison for the murder of civil rights leader Malcolm X are scheduled to have their convictions thrown out, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office reportedly said Wednesday.
The news comes after the Netflix documentary “Who Killed Malcolm X,”The 2020 episode, which aired in 2020 called into question the convictions for Muhammad Aziz (known at the time as Norman 3X Butler and Khalil Islam; Thomas 15X Johnson). After its airing, the district attorney’s office launched a formal investigation into the case.
According to The New York Times, Cy Vance, the District Attorney and attorneys for the two will seek to have their convictions overturned on Thursday. The DA’s office apologized for the “severity of the error,” the paper also reported.
Mujahid Halim, who was freed on parole in 2010, admitted that he played a part in the killings but said that Aziz (and Islam) did not.
The Times also reported that the district attorney’s office review found hat the FBI, prosecutors and NYPD withheld evidence in the case would have likely led to the acquittal of the two men. Since the announcement, neither the FBI nor the NYPD have released any statement.
Islam was paroled on July 27, 1987 and died on September 9, 2009. Aziz, who is still living, was paroled on August 15, 1985.
The Innocence Project has been working closely with David Shanies, attorney, and the D.A.The office of the D.A. on the abolition of the convictions against the men.
Malcolm X was assassinated February 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom of New York.