-Brittany Hennis-
Two men who were convicted of the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X have recently been exonerated!
MSN reports, that during a court hearing on Thursday, November 18th, Norman Butler Sir. and Thomas Johnson (the 15th) have finally gotten their names cleared!
New York County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Ellen Biben, granted the motion to vacate the convictions of Muhammad A. Aziz (Norman) and the late Khalil Islam (Thomas). A 22-month investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s office and lawyers for the men found that evidence of their innocence, including FBI documents, was withheld at trial.
Norman Thomas addressed the court Thursday saying, “The events that brought us to court today should never have occurred. Those events were and are the result of a process that was corrupt to its core, one that is all too familiar to black people in 2021. I hope the system that was responsible for this travesty of justice also takes responsibility for the immeasurable harm caused to me during the last 55 or 56 years,” Norman adds.
District attorney Vance apologized in court for the half century it took to conclude. “I apologize for what were serious, unacceptable violations of law and the public trust. I apologize on behalf of our nation’s law enforcement for this decadelong injustice which has eroded public faith in institutions that are designed to guarantee equal protection under law. Your honor, we can’t restore what was taken away from these men and their families, but by correcting the records, perhaps we can begin to restore faith.”
The late great Malcolm X, one of the most powerful voices in the fight against racism in the nation. He took the stage at the Audubon Ballroom in New York on February 12, 1965. His wife, Betty Shabazz, and four children were in the crowd. Not long after, shots were fired ending the life of one of the greats.
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