An activist with a birth name of Malcolm Little, he was one of the faces of the black civil rights movement. He became famous as a spokesman for the black Muslim organization Islamic Nation, which promoted black separatism. He was a member of the group for more than ten years, but eventually broke up with it in 1964 and became a Sunni Muslim, which some members of the Islamic Nation considered him a traitor. In February 1965, at the age of 39, Malcolm X was shot with 16 pistol shots as he prepared to make a speech.
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A year later, three men were convicted of murder: Aziz, Islam and Mujahid Abdul Halim. The latter pleaded guilty in court, but claimed that the other two defendants did not take part in the assassination. Aziz and Islam insisted they were innocent, but all three men eventually were given a life sentence. The couple who denied the blame were eventually released on parole after two decades, and Islam died in 2009.
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Malcolm X in stock photography from 1964
Photo: Profimedia.cz
Judge Ellen Biben has now overturned the two men’s convictions following a nearly two-year investigation by their lawyers and the Manhattan Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutor Cyrus Vance said on Wednesday that the couple had not received the justice they deserved and that the prosecutor’s office would seek acquittal. When Biben approved the move on Thursday, applause erupted in the courtroom, Reuters reports.
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“The incident that brought us to court that day should never have happened,” Aziz had said before. Prosecutor Vance apologized in court for “violating the law and public confidence” in the case of the murder of a black leader, in which the authorities allegedly concealed some evidence. According to him, the facts revealed during the renewed investigation clearly showed that Aziz and Islam had been wrongly convicted.
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The murder of Malcolm X has been the subject of controversy for decades, with speculation involving, for example, the involvement of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The shooter Halim, also known as Talmadge Hayer and Thomas Hagan, testified that he had killed the black leader because of his rift with the Islamic nation. He also stated that he had an accomplice, but no one else was tried in the case. Halim has been at large since 2010.
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