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Two men exonerated last year in the murder of prominent black activist Malcolm X will receive $36 million as a settlement from New York City.
Muhammad Aziz, 84, and Khalil Islam, who died in 2009 at the age of 74, were convicted of the 1965 murder of the civil rights activist and served 20 years in prison before being released in the 1980s.
Based on evidence that revealed rampant prosecutorial misconduct that led to their 1966 convictions, the men were exonerated in 2021. Shortly after, Aziz sought $40 million from the state in punitive damages for the wrongful conviction that blemished their family's reputation for over half a century in the killing of Malcolm X, who was perceived as the beacon of civil rights. Islam’s estate also filed a lawsuit following his posthumous exoneration.
On Sunday, October 30, David Shanies, an attorney representing the men, confirmed that the city decided to settle the lawsuit and will reportedly pay 26 million, while the state will cough up an additional 10 million in reparations to be shared between Muhammad Aziz and the estate of Khalil Islam.
Malcolm X was killed by member of Nation of Islam, a black Muslim organization
Aziz and Islam were arrested and convicted for the murder of Malcolm X based on obscure eyewitness testimonies despite providing alibis that should have provided grounds for an acquittal. According to reports, investigators reportedly withheld evidence pointing towards their innocence in order to obtain a speedy conviction in the high-profile case.
Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam were suspected of murder for their involvement in the Nation of Islam, a black Muslim organization deemed the primary suspect in the 1965 killing. The organization was supported by Malcolm X until he decided to split over ideological differences.
His departure is believed to have engendered ill will within the organization that enspoused black race liberation by any means necessary. However, the activist, who preached racial unity in the later years of his life, was killed in Upper Manhattan while giving a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in 1965.
Shortly after the activist was shot, police apprehended one of the shooters, Mujahid Abdul Halim, a member of NOI, at the scene, who admitted to shooting Malcolm X but said neither Aziz nor Islam were involved in the crime.
The two men spent 20 years in prison and 55 years in ignominy as they were branded as murderers of one of the most prominent figures in the civil rights movement.
While Aziz was eventually able to witness his exoneration, Islam died in 2009. Nick Paolucci, a spokesman for the New York City Law Department, told the New York Times,
"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."
Mujahid Halim, who admitted to gunning down Malcolm X and testified on the innocence of Aziz and Islam during the 1966 trial, was paroled in 2010.
