New York judge dismisses wrongful convictions of 2 men in decades-old case

NEW YORK -- A judge from New York County Supreme Court Thursday exonerated two wrongly convicted men involving the assassination of U.S. human rights activist Malcolm X in 1965.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance together with Shanies Law Office and non-profit legal organization Innocence Project moved to vacate the convictions and dismiss the indictments of Muhammad A. Aziz, 83, and Khalil Islam, who died in 2009.

The motion was granted by Ellen Biben, chief administrative judge at the court.

A two-year re-investigation found that the two didn't receive a fair trial as New York Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation withheld exculpatory evidence that would have likely led to their acquittal.

The two and a third man named Mujahid Abdul Halim were convicted of murder in 1966 and sentenced to life in prison.

"I apologize for what were serious, unacceptable violations of the law and the public trust. I apologize on behalf of our nation's law enforcement for this decades-long injustice, which has eroded public faith in institutions that are designed to guarantee the equal protection of the law," said Vance in the court.

Malcolm X was gunned down on Feb. 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City while he was addressing a gathering.