NEW YORK — Exactly 58 years to the date that Malcolm X was assassinated in a hail of gunfire on a Manhattan stage, his family announced plans to file a lawsuit against the New York City Police Department (NYPD) accusing cops and various government agencies of intentionally concealing evidence of his murder.
Flanked by two of the slain Muslim activist’s daughters, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump said on Feb. 21 that Malcolm X’s family intends to file a wrongful-death lawsuit for $100 million against a long list of agencies including the city of New York, the state of New York, the NYPD, the district attorney’s office, the FBI and the CIA.
The announcement comes two years after a state judge exonerated two of the three men convicted and jailed in connection with Malcolm X’s 1965 murder.
Last year the city paid $26 million and the state paid $10 million to Muhammad Aziz, and the family of Khalil Islam to settle lawsuits related to their wrongful convictions.
“The rhetorical question is this: If the government compensated the two gentlemen that were wrongfully convicted for the assassination of Malcolm X with tens of millions of dollars, then what is to be the compensation for the daughters who suffered the most from the assassination of Malcolm X?” Crump asked.
“We intend to have vigorous litigation of this matter, to have discovered, to be able to take depositions of the individuals who are still alive, 58 years later, to make sure that some measure of justice can be given to Malcolm X’s daughters. The truth of what happened and who was involved has always been critical.”
