NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Two men convicted in the murder of civil rights leader Malcolm X will have their convictions thrown out, the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.'s Office said Wednesday.
Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam, who spent decades in prison for the crime, were being exonerated after a nearly two-year investigation by their lawyers and the Manhattan district attorney's office. A court date is expected Thursday, according to the DA's office.
A review of the case by Vance's office was launched in early 2020 following a Netflix documentary about the innocence of Aziz, known at the time as Norman 3X Butler, and Islam, then known as Thomas 15X Johnson.
“These men did not get the justice that they deserved," Vance told The New York Times.
Malcolm X was fatally shot as he began a speech in Harlem's Audubon Ballroom on Feb. 21, 1965.
Mujahid Halim was freed on parole in 2010, admitted to taking part in the killing but maintained that the other two did not.
Aziz was paroled in 1985 and Islam paroled in 1987 and died in 2009.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.