Who Was Malcolm X and Why Are His ‘Assassins’ Being Paid $26 Million?

Along with the $26 million, the New York state will also pay their lawyer David Shanies an extra $10 million.

New York state has agreed to pay $26 million to settle lawsuits that were filed on behalf of the two men who were wrongfully convicted for the assassination of civil rights activist Malcolm X

(Photo: Altered by The Quint) 

New York state has agreed to pay $26 million to settle lawsuits that were filed on behalf of the two men who were wrongfully convicted for the assassination of civil rights activist Malcolm X in 1965. The two men, exonerated last year, had to spend decades behind bars.

Along with the $26 million, the New York state will also be paying their attorney David Shanies an extra $10 million.  

A firebrand African American Muslim activist, Malcolm X's assassination in 1965 has been a matter of mystery over the years. While three men were convicted for their role in his murder, two of them were exonerated after a 22-month investigation that concluded last year.

The Convicts

Three men were convicted of Malcolm X’s murder — Talmadge Hayer, Muhammad A Aziz, and Khalil Islam.

Hayer, also known as Thomas Hagan and Mujahid Abdul Halim, was one of the shooters in the assassination and was shot in the leg by Malcolm X’s bodyguard.

While Hayer was arrested at the assasination spot, Aziz, who was then known as Norman 3X Butler, was arrested five days later. After another five days, the police arrested Islam, then known as Thomas 15X Johnson, who was once Malcolm X's driver.

Aziz, then 26, and Islam, then 30, were hastily arrested with a lot of questionable evidence. Aziz is a US Navy veteran and a father of six children whereas, Islam was a ranking lieutenant at temple belonging to the Nation of Islam, a black Muslim organisation of which Malcolm X was once a member.  

The police said that Islam had fired the fatal shot at Malcom X, whereas, Hayer and Aziz followed him. There were ten eyewitnesses who had claimed they saw Aziz and Islam. However, the testimonies were extremely contradictory with no proper evidence.

Hayer took to the stands twice during the trial and confessed, while maintaining that his co-defendants were innocent.

While Islam was released in 1987 and passed away in 2009 at the age of 74,Aziz, 83, was released in 1985. Both men spent decades to clear their names.

It is widely believed that the convictions of Aziz and Islam were a result of misconduct in terms of legal charges and vague testimonies. Even though the two had alibis, they were thought to be involved in the assassination because of their involvement in the Nation of Islam (NOI).

 Exoneration: What Changed Now? 

The investigation into Malcolm X’s murder was reopened after the release of a Netflix documentary named Who Killed Malcolm X? and a biography on the case – The Dead Are Arising. 

Aziz and Islam were exonerated after a 22-month investigation conducted by the police as well as the lawyers, which ended up revealing that the New York Police department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) withheld important evidence at the time of the trial which would have probably led to the acquittal of Aziz and Islam.

The investigation was filled with obstacles since many of the witnesses and key potential suspects were already dead. Not just that, much important evidence was lost to time and could no longer be tested. The reinvestigation also revealed documents that showed how much of the evidence pointed away from Aziz and Islam and towards other suspects.  

According to The New York Times, police files, during the reinvestigation, also revealed that on the day of the assassination The New York Daily News had received a call saying Malcolm X would be murdered.

Also, when Aziz’s alibi was spoken to, it clearly revealed that as he had earlier said in his testimony, he was home nursing his leg and was not present at the site of the assassination.  

At the time when they were exonerated, judge Ellen N Biben said, as per The New York Times, “I regret that this court cannot fully undo the serious miscarriages of justice in this case and give you back the many years that were lost.” 

After being acquitted, Aziz decided to sue the New York State for $40 million for wrongful convictions, negligence and years spent in prison. The state settled the lawsuit for $26 million.

David B Shanies, the lawyer who defended Aziz and Islam said the $26 million would be split between Aziz and Islam’s estates.

Shanies told reporters, “So, given the importance of the case and the immense length of time that this wrongful conviction lingered, it was important for the government to act quickly to do what was within its power to make it right.” 

Who Was Malcolm X?  

Born as Malcom Little in Omaha, Nebraska in 1925, Malcolm X was an influential African American religious and civil rights leader who widely talked about Black empowerment and Islam adoption.  

Malcolm X used to talk extensively about the racism by White Americans and the ill-treatment of Black Americans in the country. 

Before formally accepting mainstream Islam, Malcolm X joined the Nation of Islam after being influenced by its leader Elijah Muhammad and his teachings while he was serving a jail sentence. Nation of Islam at the time was rising as a strong political and religious organisation in the US that advocated Black Nationalism and Islam.  

After coming out of jail in 1952, Malcolm X meteorically rose up the ranks in the organisation, mainly owing to his stellar oratory skills. He soon became the organisation’s main speaker and leader.

Malcom X left Nation of Islam in 1964 and converted to Sunni Islam, adopting the name Malik el-Shabazz.

The major reason for Malcolm X leaving the Nation of Islam was his differences with Elijah Muhammad. According to a Washington Post report, Malcom X found out about Muhammad's illicit affairs with women members of the organistion and illegitimate children, and confronted him about it.

Malcolm X soon founded Afro-American Unity, an organisation urging oppressed Black people across the world to come together.  

While his views were considered controversial by many, they changed during the course of his life, especially after he converted to Sunni Islam and travelled through Africa and met Muslims of all races in the 1960s.

Malcolm X Assassination 

While there were rumours that the Nation of Islam was planning to murder Malcolm X, he once famously said, “I live like a man who is dead already.” 

Malcolm X was assassinated on 21 February 1965, during a speech at Audubon Ballroom at the age of 39. As soon as Malcolm X greeted the audience, someone threw a makeshift smoke bomb on the auditorium floor and the security in the front deserted their posts to go see the ruckus.  

Three men then opened fire on Malcolm X in front of his wife and his three daughters. They soon turned to the crowd but Malcolm X’s bodyguard managed to shoot one, Talmadge Hayer, in the leg.  

Hayer had pointed at four men who were involved in the assassination but that information was not revealed to anyone, a report by The Washington Post says.

The reinvestigation suggested that members of Nation of Islam were targetting Malcolm X after he left the organisation and a week before the assassination, Malcolm X’s home was firebombed while he was sleeping inside with his family, as per The New York Times.  

Many, including family members, also alleged that the FBI and New York State Department were involved in the assassination because they saw him as a black radical who had to be brought down.  

While the two men have been exonerated, the mystery of full extent of the conspiracy behind Malcolm's assassination is yet to be uncovered.

(With inputs from The New York Times and The Washington Post.)