His autobiography, written with Alex Haley, remains a classic work of modern American literature and his life was turned into a 1992 Spike Lee film, starring Denzel Washington. Malcolm X gained national prominence as the voice of the Nation of Islam, exhorting black people to claim their civil rights 'by any means necessary.' 'While I do not need a court, prosecutors, or a piece of paper to tell me I am innocent, I am glad that my family, my friends, and the attorneys who have worked and supported me all these years are finally seeing the truth we have all known, officially recognized,' Aziz said in a statement released by his attorney.Īziz, second from left, shakes hands with attorney Barry Scheck, right, after a judge tossed his conviction He and Islam, who maintained their innocence from the start in the 1965 killing at Harlem's Audubon Ballroom, were paroled in the 1980s. 'I am an 83-year-old man who was victimized by the criminal justice system.'
Islam should be dismissed.'Īziz told the court: 'The events that led to my exoneration should never have occurred. Therefore, the People believe the indictment against Mr. 'Moreover, under the unique circumstances presented by a 55-year-old case, there can be no retrial on any of the charges contained in the indictment. 'Without these files, it is clear these men did not receive a fair trial, and their convictions must be vacated. None of them were disclosed to the defense,' Vance told the court on Thursday.
'Many of those documents were exculpatory. Edgar Hoover ordered agents to tell witnesses not to reveal that they were informants when talking with police and prosecutors. Vance, 66, apologized to Aziz in court on Thursday, and shook his hand.įBI files showed that the late FBI Director J. Vance's conclusion that the conviction should be quashed is likely to be one of the most high-profile final acts for him as DA: he announced in March that he would retire at the end of this year, and not seek re-election after 12 years in office. The investigation was launched by Cy Vance, the Manhattan District Attorney, following the broadcast of a six-part Netflix documentary last year which sparked renewed focus on the case. Manhattan judge Ellen Biben dismissed the convictions of Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam, after prosecutors and the men's lawyers said a renewed investigation found new evidence that they were not involved with the killing and determined that authorities withheld some of what they knew. More than a half century after the assassination of Malcolm X, two of his convicted killers were formally exonerated on Thursday after years of doubt about who was responsible for the civil rights icon's death. He was gunned down aged 39 on Februinside Harlem's Audubon Ballroom during a rally Malcolm X speaks to reporters in Washington, D.C., on May 16, 1963. Experts believe that Aziz and Islam's relatives could seek $1 million each in damages for the wrongful convictionīy Snejana Farberov and Harriet Alexander For.Aziz said in a statement he was victimized by the criminal justice system, adding: 'I do not need this court, these prosecutors, or a piece of paper to tell me I am innocent'.One FBI report from September 28, 1965, even contains a description of the man whom some experts have concluded was probably the killer who wielded a shotgun - William Bradley, who died in 2018.Edgar Hoover ordered agents to tell witnesses not to reveal that they were informants when talking with police and prosecutors FBI files showed that the late FBI Director J.Prosecutors and defendants' lawyers agreed that new evidences suggested they played no part in the murder of the civil rights leader.The FBI and New York Police Department had evidence of Aziz's and Islam's innocence within hours but ignored and suppressed it, a lawyer for both men said.
#LIBERAL CRIME SQUAD JUDGE CORRUPT PLUS#
Both men had maintained their innocence for decades and their stories were the subject of numerous books and articles, plus a six-part Netflix documentary released last year, Who Killed Malcolm X?.Aziz spent 22 years in prison before he was released on parole in 1985 Islam was released in 1987.A Manhattan judge on Thursday formally dismissed convictions of Muhammad Aziz, 83, and Khalil Islam, who died in 2009 aged 74: both were found guilty of Malcolm X's 1965 assassination in Harlem.
#LIBERAL CRIME SQUAD JUDGE CORRUPT TRIAL#
Two men wrongly convicted for killing Malcolm X in 1965 are officially exonerated: New investigation revealed Hoover COVERED UP fact that trial witnesses were FBI informants