NEW YORK (AP) — The city of New York will settle lawsuits filed on behalf of two men who were exonerated last year for the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X. Their lawyer, David Shanies, confirmed Sunday (Oct. 30, 2022) the city has agreed to pay $26 million for the wrongful convictions which led to both men spending decades behind bars. The state will pay $10 million. The move comes nearly a year after a Manhattan judge dismissed the convictions of Muhammad Aziz, now 84, and the late Khalil Islam. Prosecutors said new evidence of witness intimidation and suppression of exculpatory evidence had undermined the decades-old case against the men.
FILE – This combination photo shows Muhammad Aziz, a suspect in the slaying of Malcolm X, after his arrest, in New York, on Feb. 26, 1965, left, and Aziz outside court after his conviction in the killing of Malcolm X was vacated on Nov. 18, 2021, in New York. The city of New York is settling lawsuits filed on behalf of Aziz and Khalil Islam, who were exonerated in 2021 for the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X, agreeing to pay $26 million for the wrongful convictions which led to both men spending decades behind bars, according to an attorney representing the two men, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/File)
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