Eighty-four-year-old Muhammad Aziz is suing the city of New York after he was wrongfully accused and convicted of killing iconic civil rights leader, Malcolm X.
Malcolm X was shot and killed on February 21, 1965, while preparing to speak in front of an audience at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. One year after Malcolm X’s death, three men who identified as members of the Nation of Islam were arrested and charged with the murder. The men were handed down a sentence of 20 years to life in prison.
The men arressted were Mohammad Aziz, Mujahid Abdul Halim, and Khalil Islam. After spending nearly two decades behind bars, Aziz was released from prison In 1985. Islam was released in 1987 and later passed away in 2009. Halim was also released in 2010 after being granted parole.
During their trial and their time behind bars, Aziz and Islam never waivered in their innocence. Aziz recounts in a Netflix documentary that he was at home lying on the couch when he heard about the murder over the radio. Aziz detailed that he wondered who would want to shoot and kill the iconic leader.
In November 2021, Aziz and Islam were exonerated of the charges. The exoneration was the result of an investigation that lasted nearly two years. As part of the investigation, officials found that the prosecutors at the time along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York police department did not reveal key evidence that would have acquitted Aziz and Islam of the murder.
The lawsuit explains that Halim's testimony details “neither of them had any involvement with the murder of Malcolm X.”
The complaint goes on, “The City’s policy and practice were to tolerate, fail to discipline, and encourage violations of officials’ constitutional obligations to make timely disclosure to the defense of information. The City’s deliberate indifference to such violations created a laissez-faire atmosphere that caused such violations to continue, including in Mr. Aziz’s case.”
The lawsuit goes on to accuse the state of being responsible for the 20 years Aziz spent behind bars and the “more than 55 years living with the hardship and indignity attendant to being unjustly branded as a convicted murderer of one of the most important civil rights leaders in history.”
Following the exoneration, then-District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. shared an apology on behalf of the city's law enforcement for "serious, unacceptable violations of law and the public trust."
Ney York City Mayor Eric Adams shared in a statement regarding the lawsuit, "As someone who has fought for a fairer criminal justice system for my entire career, I believe the overturning of Mr. Aziz and Mr. Islam's convictions was the just outcome. We are reviewing this lawsuit."
Along with the lawsuit filed by Aziz and his team, an additional lawsuit on behalf of Khalil Islam's estate was filed.
As detailed by the lawsuit, Aziz is seeking $40 million in damages against the city for the 20 years he spent behind bars. In his lawsuit, a number of city employees including former NYPD detectives who worked on the original murder investigation have been named as defendants.
The family of Malcolm X, led by his daughter Ilyasah Shabazz, filed a civil lawsuit in Manhattan federal court Friday, claiming law enforcement deliberately failed to protect Malcolm X, then obstructed investigations to identify his killers. Malcolm X was assassinated sixty years ago in New York City, at the Audubon... Read More »
The longest-serving exonerated inmate in Illinois has filed a civil lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department, Cook County, three Cook County assistant state's attorneys, the state, and others. Jimmy Soto was just 20 years old when he was sentenced to life behind bars for a crime that he adamantly maintained... Read More »
When Malcolm X, the assassinated civil rights leader, was murdered on February 21, 1965, the crowd around him rushed to attempt to save his life, but to no avail. In the front row sat his pregnant wife and four daughters in the Audubon Ballroom, where he was the guest speaker.... Read More »
Three men were originally convicted of assassinating civil rights activist Malcolm X on February 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. Two of those men, who maintained their innocence throughout their lengthy prison sentences, were exonerated earlier this week. The three men arrested, convicted, and sentenced to... Read More »
