Judge Tosses Convictions Of 2 Men In Killing Of Malcolm X

Renewed investigation found authorities withheld evidence that favored the defense in the trial of Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam.

More than half a century after the assassination of Malcolm X, two of his convicted killers were exonerated Thursday after decades of doubt about who was responsible for the civil rights icon's death.

Manhattan judge Ellen Biben dismissed the convictions of Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam, after prosecutors and the men's lawyers said a renewed investigation found new evidence that the men were not involved with the killing and determined that authorities withheld some of what they knew.

"The event that has brought us to court today should never have occurred," Aziz, 83, told the court.