According to news announcements from the Innocence Project and civil rights lawyer David Shanies' law firm, District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. will seek to have Muhammad Aziz's and the late Khalil Islam's convictions overturned.
According to a news release, Vance, along with representatives from the Innocence Project and Shanies Law Office, will appear in New York State Supreme Court on Thursday at 2 p.m. ET to petition a judge to overturn the convictions.
Vance Jr. apologized on behalf of law enforcement authorities in an interview with The New York Times, admitting they had neglected the family of the two inmates.
“Throughout history, law enforcement has often failed to live up to its responsibilities,” Vance said.
The inquiry discovered that prosecutors and law enforcement officers concealed critical evidence that, if provided, would have resulted in the conviction of those people far sooner.
Aziz and Islam were imprisoned for over two decades for the crime. Aziz, 83, was freed in 1985, while Islam, 74, was released two years later and died in 2009 at 74.
Malcolm X rose to prominence as the national spokesman for the Nation of Islam, a Muslim organization created in the United States in 1930 to revive the social and economic awareness of African-Americans within the framework of such a religious movement.
The Black activist was shot and killed at Audubon Ballroom in New York as he prepared to deliver a speech.
Three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of shooting, found guilty, and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1966.
American Police Force and the FBI are often alleged to have a role in instigating the murder behind hindsight.