NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — One of the two men exonerated in the assassination of civil rights leader Malcolm X intends to sue both New York City and the state.
Attorneys for Muhammad Aziz confirmed Tuesday that the man who had been wrongly labeled a killer for more than five decades will be taking legal action over the purported damage to his reputation.
Innocence Project and civil rights lawyer David Shanies, who is representing Aziz, noted they have already filed a $20 million claim against the state and have notified the city of an intended claim of $40 million, unless a settlement can be reached.
“While I do not dwell on what my life might have been like had this travesty of justice never occurred, the deep and lasting trauma it caused cannot be overstated. The more than 20 years that I spent in prison were stolen from me and my family, and while the official record now recognizes the truth that has been known for decades, nothing can undo the damage that my wrongful conviction caused to all of us,” said Aziz.
“Those responsible for depriving me of my liberty and for depriving my family of a husband, a father, and a grandfather should be held accountable,” he added.
Aziz had his murder conviction thrown out last month after a Netflix documentary sparked renewed interest in the case and spurred a review by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
After a roughly year-long review, Manhattan DA Cy Vance told the New York Times that Aziz – and his co-defendant, the late Khalil Islam – “did not get the justice that they deserved.”
Vance went on to apologize to the men for the “severity of the error” in their cases.
According to Shanies, authorities at the original trial withheld evidence that “would likely have led to an acquittal.”
Malcolm X was assassinated Feb. 21, 1965, when three men rushed the stage as he was beginning a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights.
Mujahid Halim, who was freed on parole in 2010, had previously admitted to taking part in the killing, but maintained that Aziz and Islam were innocent.
Aziz was paroled in 1985 and Islam was paroled in 1987, however, he died in 2009 before he could be exonerated of the crime.
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