Two human rights activists that were wrongly accused of MalcomX death to be set free

Two of the three men convicted of killing the human rights activist Malcolm X are expected to have their convictions thrown out Thursday. 

The men — Muhammad A. Aziz and Khalil Islam — always maintained their innocence in the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X, who rose to become one of the most prominent leaders of the civil rights movement.null

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance and lawyers representing the two men first told The New York Times that they expected Aziz’s and Islam’s names to be cleared Thursday. 

From the Archives: The assassination of Malcom X

Vance and the Innocence Project, which represents the two men, confirmed to NBC News that they would “move to vacate the wrongful convictions of two individuals for the murder of Malcolm X” on Thursday afternoon.

Islam died in 2009, but Aziz, who is in his 80s, continued to fight to clear his record, according to the Innocence Project.

The development follows a 22-month investigation into the case and decades of speculation that it was mishandled from the start.null

Malcolm X was assassinated Feb. 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem in New York City, where hundreds had gathered to hear him speak. Inside the ballroom, three men opened fire, striking him onstage.