New evidence points to NYPD, FBI conspiracy in Malcolm X assassination, lawyers say
'So, what we're trying to do is talk about restorative justice as lawyers -- try to pursue relentless justice,' Attorney Ray Hamlin says
Lawyers representing Malcolm X‘s estate are requesting his case be reopened in light of new evidence that may reveal that the New York Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation conspired to have him killed.
According to ABC News, the family and attorney of former undercover NYPD officer Ray Wood disclosed that they recovered a death bed confession letter in November 2020. The letter allegedly states that the NYPD and the FBI conspired to ensure the killing of Minister X, who was gunned down in Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom during a speech in 1965.
READ MORE: New book tells stories of mothers of MLK, Malcolm X and James Baldwin
Wood’s family stated that in the letter, he wrote that it was his responsibility to have X’s security detail arrested in the days prior to his scheduled appearance at the Audubon. This would ensure that security would not be sufficient to stop the gunmen from killing Malcolm X.
Despite three men from the Nation of Islam being convicted of killing the civil rights icon, attorney Ben Crump, three of Malcolm X’s daughters and Wood’s family are hoping the case will be re-opened in light of the discovery of this letter.
“So, what we’re trying to do is talk about restorative justice as lawyers — try to pursue relentless justice,” said Attorney Ray Hamlin.
Last February, Netflix released the docuseries Who Killed Malcolm X, which chronicled historian Abdur-Rahman Muhammad’s years-long research to unravel inconsistencies in the Malcolm X murder case. In the series, Muhammad worked to reveal evidence that two of the three men convicted for Malcolm X’s death were in fact not present at the Audubon on the day of this murder.
In an interview with PBS, Muhammad stated that his documentary even indicates that the person who fired the gun that delivered the fatal blow to Malcolm X was not one of the three men convicted.
“It’s really pulled back the veil on this historic crime, that was really an open wound, in not just the African-American community, but the world community,” Muhammad said. “And, you know, the fundamental understanding of who pulled that shotgun, who were involved. Yes, we answer that question.”
As reported by The New York Times, the documentary uncovered that man was suspected to be former Nation of Islam member William Bradley, who lived out the remainder of his life in New Jersey before passing away in 2018.
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