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A year ago, the two men convicted of the murder of African-American activist Malcolm X in the United States in 1965 were cleared. While justice was deaf to the evidence of their innocence, a documentary revived the case.
Two men were unjustly thrown behind bars for almost 20 years for the murder of Malcolm X. Their innocence was found a year ago, 56 years after the fact. In February 1965, Malcolm X, an advocate for African-American rights, is shot dead in the middle of a speech, in Harlem (New York, Eunited states). Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam, two activists from the organization that Malcolm X has just left, are arrested and sentenced. Since then, they have never ceased to proclaim their innocence.
For years, historians, journalists and citizens tried to reopen the investigation. In vain. The police ignore the alibis and testimonies that exonerate the defendants, while the FBI refuses to release certain documents. It is ultimately a Netflix documentary that will revive the case, 55 years later. The Manhattan prosecutor then re-examines the file and, after long months of investigation, the two men are cleared. The City and State of New York have just announced that they will pay $36 million in damages. At 84, Muhammad Aziz responded by denouncing “a system that is corrupt to the core and remains far too familiar to black people in 2021“. In the United States, 53% of those exonerated after miscarriages of justice are African American.