Muhammad Abdul Aziz
Muhammad Abdul Aziz (formerly known as Norman 3X Butler; born 1938[1]) is an American man who was wrongfully convicted in the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X – a conviction that was overturned in November 2021, decades after he was paroled in 1985.[2][3] Aziz maintained his innocence; and Mujahid Abdul Halim, who admitted to the murder, insisted that Aziz and Khalil Islam, another man who was convicted along with them, were innocent.[4][5][6][7]
Biography
Aziz was a member of the Fruit of Islam, the security arm of the Nation of Islam; though he later converted to Sunni Islam under the leadership of Warith Deen Mohammed. Butler changed his name to Muhammad Abdul Aziz while serving his prison sentence.[1] Aziz is also a veteran of the United States Navy, having enlisted in the late 1950s upon his completion of high school.[8] In March 1998, he was appointed head of security for Masjid Malcolm Shabazz, a Sunni mosque in Harlem, New York, formerly known as NOI Mosque No.7 [3]
In the days proceeding the release of Who Killed Malcolm X?, a six-part Netflix documentary that aired February 7, 2020, New York County District Attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., announced a preliminary review of Aziz's conviction. On February 11, 2020, Vance met Aziz's attorney David Shanies and representatives of the Innocence Project with plans to re-investigate the case.[9]
After having spent 20 years in prison and nearly 36 years on parole, on November 18, 2021, Aziz was exonerated and his murder conviction overturned, capping off a 22-month-long investigation.[2] With assistance from the Manhattan district attorney's office, lawyers for Aziz and his late co-defendant Khalil Islam (formerly Thomas 15X Johnson) uncovered proof that the FBI & NYPD withheld key evidence from the March 1966[10] murder trial that most likely would have led to their acquittal.[11] A third co-defendant, Mujahid Abdul Halim, had his 2nd degree murder conviction upheld and remains on parole.
See also
References
- Doeden 2013, p. 80.
- Jacobs 2021.
- McFadden 1998.
- Flynn 2020.
- Innocence Project 2020.
- Weiss 2020.
- Leland 2020.
- Doeden 2013, p. 48, 80.
- Romo 2020.
- "'Fundamental justice:' Judge clears 2 in Malcolm X slaying". ABC News. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- Southall, Ashley; Bromwich, Jonah E. (17 November 2021). "2 Men Convicted of Killing Malcolm X Will Be Exonerated After Decades". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
Sources
- "An Innocent Man Spent 20 Years in Prison for Malcolm X's Murder". Innocence Project. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
- Doeden, Matt (1 February 2013). A Marked Man: The Assassination of Malcolm X. Twenty-First Century Books. ISBN 978-1-4677-1054-1.
- Flynn, Meagan (10 February 2020). "Malcolm X assassination may be reinvestigated as Netflix documentary, lawyers cast doubt on convictions". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - Jacobs, Shayna (18 November 2021). "Judge vacates convictions of Aziz, Islam in 1965 killing of Malcolm X". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- Leland, John (6 February 2020). "Who Really Killed Malcolm X?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
- McFadden, Robert D. (31 March 1998). "An Assassin Of Malcolm X Gets Islam Post". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
- Romo, Vanessa (11 February 2020). "Malcolm X Doc Prompts 'Reexamination' Of Iconic Leader's Assassination Investigation". NPR.org. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - Weiss, Debra Cassens (7 February 2020). "Prosecutors consider reviewing convictions in Malcolm X's murder after documentary raises questions". ABA Journal. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Further reading
- Felber, Garrett A. (June 2010). "Thomas 15X Johnson Oral History (2004): Transcript, Thomas 15X Johnson, Oral History Interview, 29 September 2004, by Dr. Manning Marable, pp. 14–33". Souls. 12 (2): 170–181. doi:10.1080/10999941003785224. ISSN 1099-9949. S2CID 142927149.