New York to pay $26m to men wrongly convicted of killing Malcolm X

New York City in the United States has agreed to pay $26 million to settle lawsuits filed on behalf of two men whose convictions in the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X were thrown out last year after a judge found “serious miscarriages of justice,” according to the city and federal court records.

The two men, Muhammad A. Aziz and Khalil Islam, each spent more than 20 years in prison after their hasty arrests and a trial that relied on questionable evidence in one of the most notorious murders of the civil rights era.

Their exonerations last November — Mr. Islam’s was posthumous — came as allegations of racism and discrimination in the criminal justice system were again prompting national protests and political debate.

The throwing out of the men’s convictions came after a 22-month investigation by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, then led by Cyrus R. Vance Jr., and the men’s lawyers, which found that prosecutors, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York Police Department had withheld key evidence that probably would have led to acquittals had it been presented to a jury.

“This settlement brings some measure of justice to individuals who spent decades in prison and bore the stigma of being falsely accused of murdering an iconic figure,” Nick Paolucci, a spokesman for the New York City Law Department, said in a statement.

“Based on our review,” Mr. Paolucci said, “this office stands by the opinion of former Manhattan district attorney Vance who stated, based on his investigation, that ‘there is one ultimate conclusion: Mr. Aziz and Mr. Islam were wrongfully convicted of this crime.’”

Mr. Paolucci and David B. Shanies, a lawyer for the two men, said the settlement will be split evenly between Mr. Aziz, who was released in 1985 and is now 84; and the estate of Mr. Islam, who was released in 1987 and died in 2009 at 74.

Mr. Shanies said the settlement was significant not only because of the historic nature of the underlying crime and the degree of government misconduct, but also because it took more than 50 years to rectify the injustice, more than a decade after Mr. Islam’s death.

“It’s tragic that he died never knowing that his name would be cleared,” Mr. Shanies said.

Who was Malcolm X?

Malcolm X was a prominent figure in the civil rights movement, advocating for Black empowerment and the promotion of Islam within the African American community.

Born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, he later adopted the name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz after becoming disillusioned with the Nation of Islam.¹

Malcolm X’s early life was marked by hardship and racism.

His father, Earl Little, was an outspoken Baptist lay speaker and a local leader of the Universal Negro Improvement Association.

After his father’s death, Malcolm’s mother, Louise, struggled to care for their seven children, and Malcolm was eventually sent to a series of foster homes.

In his teenage years, Malcolm became involved in crime, leading to his arrest and imprisonment in 1946.

During his time in prison, he joined the Nation of Islam and adopted the surname “X” to symbolize his rejection of his “slavemaster” name.

After his release from prison, Malcolm X quickly rose through the ranks of the Nation of Islam, becoming one of its most influential leaders.

He advocated for Black separatism and was a vocal critic of racism and inequality.

However, his views on violence and his criticism of other civil rights leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr., were highly controversial.

In the early 1960s, Malcolm X began to distance himself from the Nation of Islam and its leader, Elijah Muhammad.

He eventually left the organization and converted to Sunni Islam, adopting the name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz.

Tragically, Malcolm X’s life was cut short when he was assassinated on February 21, 1965, at the age of 39.

Despite his controversial views and actions, Malcolm X remains a significant figure in American history and a powerful symbol of the struggle for racial equality and justice.

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