Two men convicted of the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X are to be exonerated after more than half a century, according to their lawyers.
A 22-month investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s Office and lawyers for the men — Muhammad A. Aziz and the late Khalil Islam — found that evidence of their innocence, including FBI documents, was withheld at trial.
The men were known at the time of the killing of the civil rights activist as Norman 3X Butler (Aziz) and Thomas 15X Johnson (Islam).
In an interview with The New York Times, which first reported the news, Vance apologized for the failure of law enforcement and said, “This points to the truth that law enforcement over history has often failed to live up to its responsibilities.”
