New York – Aziz and Islam were exonerated last November after an investigation found evidence of “witness intimidation and suppression.”
Malcom X was assassinated in 1975, the killing of Malcolm X in New York’s Audubon Ballroom was one of the most high-profile assassinations of the civil rights era.
The city of New York has agreed to pay $26 million in lawsuit settlements filed on behalf of two men exonerated last year in the assassination of civil rights leader Malcolm X, their attorney said Sunday.
The state of New York will pay out a further $10 million over the 1966 conviction of Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam, who spent decades in prison.
Nick Paolucci, the New York City Law Department spokesperson, said
“Based on our review, 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.”
Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam were incriminated falsely for 50 years that have inflicted pain and shame to them and their families.
Aziz was paroled in 1985 and Islam was released from prison in 1987, Islam died in 2009 at the age of 74.
A New York City Law Department spokesperson said in a statement that the settlement would be divided equally between 84-year-old Aziz and the estate of Islam, accordingly.
The settlement comes after Aziz and the estate of Islam sued New York City on July 14, seeking $40 million for malicious prosecution, denial of due process rights and government misconduct.
Aziz and the estate of Khalil Islam also filed two multimillion-dollar civil lawsuits in December 2021 aimed at New York state government.
Muhammad Aziz just turned 84 and Khalil Islam tragically died before seeing his name cleared.
Talmadge Hayer — the confessed assassin of Malcolm X who was caught at the scene — testified at trial that Aziz and Islam were not involved in the killing.
In the late 1970s, Hayer signed an affidavit naming four other men who he said were involved in planning and carrying out the murder.
