On Feb. 21, 1965, civil rights leader Malcolm X was shot to death at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem during a speaking engagement. The prime over within the shooting was Thomas Hagan despite the fact that 3 men were arrested for the crime. Hagan served for the crime for 44 years. Thomas Hagan, previously known as Talmadge X Hayer or Talmadge Hayer, is 69 and was granted parole after dozens of requests, and probably will need a cash advance or two for legal expenses.
Assassination of Malcolm X
In 1965 on that day, Malcolm X took the podium at the Audubon Ballroom. As he was beginning to address the crowd, a disturbance broke out in the audience. As he, and others, attempted to calm the situation, Thomas Hagan, then Talmadge Hayer, shot him within the chest with a sawed off shotgun at point blank range. Two other men began shooting him with handguns. Malcolm X was shot more than 16 times and was pronounced dead just after arrival at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, at 3:30 pm. Hagan was arrested at the scene after being severely beaten by the crowd and was the only person who confessed to the crime.
The other men that shot
Two additional persons were arrested, Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson, now known as Muhammed Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam, respectively. Hagan has always maintained that neither of them had anything to do with the crime and they maintained their innocence. Even quick money can’t help yield other results as to who the other gunmen were. Within the mid 1980s, both of them were paroled.
Shooting over ecumenical split
In 1964, Malcolm X had split from the Nation of Islam, which he had been a member of for a dozen years. The shooting was due to some tensions between him and Elijah Muhammad, who was the leader. Hagan said that he shot him down because of that reason.
17th try parole granted to Thomas Hagan
According to the Los Angeles Times , Hagan has expressed regret over the shooting. He was granted his appeal for parole after 17 times of trying. He is married, has a daughter, according to New York Times, and given that 1988 has been on work release, working in a fast food restaurant among other endeavors. He earned a Masters in Sociology given that being in jail.
Resources for the article
Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-malcolm-x-...
New York Times
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/killer-of-malcolm-x-granted...
