Judge tosses convictions of 2 men in killing of Malcolm X
More than half a century after the assassination of Malcolm X, two of his convicted killers were exonerated Thursday after decades of doubt about who was responsible for the civil rights icon맥스카지노s death.
A Manhattan judge dismissed the convictions of Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam, after prosecutors and the men맥스카지노s lawyers said a renewed investigation found new evidence that the men were not involved with the killing and determined that authorities withheld some of what they knew.
맥스카지노The event that has brought us to court today should never have occurred,맥스카지노 Aziz, 83, told the court.
He and Islam, who maintained their innocence from the start in the 1965 killing at Harlem맥스카지노s Audubon Ballroom, were paroled in the 1980s. Islam died in 2009.
Malcolm X gained national prominence as the voice of the Nation of Islam, exhorting Black people to claim their civil rights 맥스카지노by any means necessary.맥스카지노 His autobiography, written with Alex Haley, remains a classic work of modern American literature.
Near the end of Malcolm X맥스카지노s life, he split with the Black Muslim organization and, after a trip to Mecca, started speaking about the potential for racial unity. It earned him the ire of some in the Nation of Islam, who saw him as a traitor.
He was shot to death while beginning a speech on Feb. 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 맥스카지노 also known as Talmadge Hayer and Thomas Hagan 맥스카지노 admitted to shooting Malcolm X but said neither Aziz nor Islam was involved. The two offered alibis, and no physical evidence linked them to the crime.
Halim was paroled in 2010. Through a relative, he declined to comment Thursday. He identified some other men as accomplices.
The recent re-investigation found evidence that included orders from former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover himself telling witnesses not to identify themselves as informants to the police or defense, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. told the court.
맥스카지노I apologize for what were serious, unacceptable violations of law and the public trust,맥스카지노 he said.
Innocence Project co-founder Barry Scheck, one of the lawyers for Aziz and Islam맥스카지노s family, said the review also found the FBI and police hid evidence from prosecutors, as what he called part of a plot to disrupt the Black civil rights movement.
The New York Police Department and the FBI said Wednesday that they had cooperated fully with the re-investigation. They declined to comment further.
NYPD Chief of Patrol Juanita Holmes said Thursday she felt for Malcolm X맥스카지노s family and for Aziz and Islam 맥스카지노if we are responsible for withholding information.맥스카지노
맥스카지노I hope that we never revisit a scenario like this again,맥스카지노 she added.
Attorneys, scholars and others have long raised questions about the convictions, and alternate theories and accusations have swirled around the case. After Netflix aired the documentary series 맥스카지노Who Killed Malcom X?맥스카지노 early last year, Vance맥스카지노s office said it was taking a fresh look at the case.
As news of the exonerations reverberated, even New York City맥스카지노s mayor said the public deserved more answers.
맥스카지노I hope this doesn맥스카지노t end the discussion,맥스카지노 Mayor Bill de Blasio said. 맥스카지노For millions and millions of Americans, we still need to know who killed Malcolm X and who ordered it.맥스카지노