New York City and New York State are to pay $36 Million to the two men wrongfully convicted of the assassination Malcolm X.
Muhammad Aziz, 84 and KhalilIslam, who both died in 2009, were convicted in March 1966 of killing Malcolm X. Published last NovemberNPR reported.
New York City will be paying $26 million, and the state will pay $10 million to Aziz as well as to the estates of Islam. According to NPR
“Muhammad Aziz, Khalil Islam, and their families suffered because of these unjust convictions for more than 50 years,”According to NPR David Shanies was the attorney who represented the men and sent an email.
“The City recognized the grave injustices done here, and I commend the sincerity and speed with which the Comptroller’s Office and the Corporation Counsel moved to resolve the lawsuits.”
According to CBS New YorkAfter new evidence of witness intimidation, suppression of exculpatory evidence and other evidence supporting the case against Aziz & Islam, the men were exonerated.
Cyrus Vance Jr., the district attorney at that time, issued an apology to law enforcement for their exoneration “serious, unacceptable violations of law and the public trust,”CBS New York reported that the New York City Law Department stated it was standing by.
The following is an extract from the National Registry of ExonerationsMujahid Abdul Haim, along with Islam and Aziz, was convicted of assassinating Malcolm X. Halim admitted to having shot Malcolm X, but said that he and the other two men were not involved.
“I just want to testify that [Aziz] and [Islam] had nothing to do with it,”According to the National Registry of Exonerations, Halim said this during the 1966 trial. “I was there. I know what happened and I know the people who were there.”
According to the National Registry of Exonerations, Halim’s cross-examination revealed that Halim had been lying. The three men were convicted of killing Aziz and Islam and sent to prison for life.
Shanies claimed that the $36 million settlement would send a message that “police and prosecutorial misconduct cause tremendous damage, and we must remain vigilant to identify and correct injustices,”NPR.
NPR reported that the settlement will split equally between Aziz Islam’s estate as well as Islam’s. The documents will be signed over a few weeks.