News
Two Men Convicted of Assassinating Malcom X Exonerated After 55 Years

The two men convicted of assassinating Malcom X in 1965 were exonerated Thursday after a 22-month investigation found that evidence of their innocence, including FBI documents, was withheld at trial.
Muhammad A. Aziz and the late Khalil Islam spent the last half-century fighting for their freedom before New York County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Ellen Biben granted the motion to vacate their convictions Thursday.
Islam died in 2009. Aziz, now 83 years old, addressed the court Thursday.
“The events that brought us to court today should never have occurred. Those events were and are the result of a process that was corrupt to its core, one that is all too familiar to black people in 2021,” Aziz said. “I hope the same system that was responsible for this travesty of justice also takes responsibility for the immeasurable harm caused to me during the last 55 or 56 years.”
“I regret that this court cannot fully undo the serious miscarriages of justice in this case and give you back the many years that were lost,” Biben said in her ruling before the court erupted in applause.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who handled the investigation, spoke following the ruling.
“I apologize for what were serious, unacceptable violations of law and the public trust,” Vance said. “I apologize on behalf of our nation’s law enforcement for this decades-long injustice which has eroded public faith in institutions that are designed to guarantee equal protection under law.”
Vance continued, “Your honor, we can’t restore what was taken away from these men and their families, but by correcting the records, perhaps we can begin to restore that faith.”
Attorney David B. Shanies said Aziz and Islam “experienced the agony of decades in prison for a crime they did not commit. They were robbed of their freedom in the prime of their lives and branded the killers of a towering civil rights leader.”
Watch the reactions below.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance told a New York state court that new exculpatory evidence uncovered during a two-years-long investigation had made it clear that Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam were wrongfully convicted for murdering Malcolm X https://t.co/iLHq94tCrG pic.twitter.com/K8IaZYY6x0
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 18, 2021
A historic motion filed in a New York Supreme courtroom Thursday exonerated the accused two men previously convicted in connection with the murder of Malcolm X.https://t.co/dJUJwJb4zU
— amNewYork (@amNewYork) November 18, 2021
As a result of our Netflix series “Who Killed Malcolm X?”, tomorrow the US history books will be rewritten when two men wrongfully convicted for the assassination of Malcolm X will be exonerated after 55 years, a historic milestone!!
— Abdur-Rahman Muhammad (@arm_legacy) November 17, 2021
Muhammad Aziz, one of two men wrongfully convicted of the murder of Malcolm X, said the decision to throw out the verdict against him 56 years after the assassination could not eliminate the decades he had lost. https://t.co/37Xdi6eqcM pic.twitter.com/8qob6Ao2Qw
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 18, 2021
BREAKING: Muhammad A. Aziz and Khalil Islam (d.2009), both wrongly convicted of the assassination of Malcolm X, have finally been exonerated. Muhammad and Khalil spent a combined 42 years in prison.
They are represented by @innocence and @ShaniesLaw. https://t.co/TW3Kc47z1C
— The Innocence Project (@innocence) November 18, 2021
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.
![]() |