Killer of Malcolm X Wins Parole, Still Claims Innocence

NEW YORK — One of three men convicted of assassinating black leader Malcolm X in 1965 was released on parole from a state prison today after serving slightly more than a minimum 20-year jail term.

Muhammad Abdul Aziz, 46, who has maintained he is innocent, walked out of the Arthur Kill Correctional Facility on Staten Island this morning. Aziz, also known as Norman Three-X Butler, was one of three members of the Nation of Islam convicted of gunning down Malcolm X as he spoke in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem.

Once a leading spokesman for the Black Muslims, Malcolm X broke with the group and established a rival organization in 1964. He had just begun a speech on Feb. 21, 1965, when a smoke bomb went off, and during the commotion the assassins rushed to the stage and gunned him down.