Two men who spent decades in prison after being convicted of killing civil rights activist Malcolm X in 1965 were exonerated on Thursday, following an apology from the Manhattan District Attorney for what he described as "law violations and public trust breaches." The courtroom erupted in applause as New York State Supreme Court Justice Ellen Biben vacated the convictions against Muhammad Aziz (83 years old) and Khalil Islam, who died in 2009. The men had been granted parole in the 1980s.
Aziz told the court that his wrongful conviction stemmed from "a fundamentally corrupt process that was all too familiar for Black people in 2021." He expressed hope that the system would "take responsibility for the unlimited harm he suffered as a result."
Two of Islam's sons, Ameen and Shahid Johnson, who were also present in court, told reporters outside that they felt a mix of joy and pain regarding the exoneration, as nothing could bring back what their family lost. Ameen was between one to one and a half years old, and their mother was pregnant with Shahid when Islam, previously known as Thomas Johnson, was arrested. Ameen Johnson told Reuters earlier while waiting to enter the courtroom that the exoneration came "after a very long time. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d live to see this day."
In court, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance stated that new exonerating evidence that emerged during a two-year investigation revealed that Aziz and Islam were wrongly convicted of Malcolm X’s murder. Investigators withheld dozens of documents from both the defense and prosecution from the New York Police Department and the FBI, including reports indicating the involvement of other suspects, according to Vance. The conviction of a third man for Malcolm X’s murder remains in place.
Malcolm X emerged as a prominent spokesperson for the Nation of Islam, a group of Black American Muslims that embraced the idea of Black separation. He spent over a decade with the organization before becoming disillusioned and publicly separating from it in 1964, moderating some of his previously held views on segregation. He was shot dead at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City while preparing to address a speech, and the three convicted men were members of the Nation of Islam.
