"I hope he gets exonerated": Documentary series questions who killed Malcolm X

New York — Prosecutors in New York City are taking a fresh look at the assassination of Malcolm X, which took place 55 years ago. New evidence from a Netflix documentary series is raising questions about whether two innocent men were sent to prison for a murder they did not commit.

The six-part series "Who Killed Malcolm X?" presents new facts about Malcolm X's assassination and claims the police botched the investigation. Malcolm X was killed in a barrage of bullets as he was about to give a speech in Harlem in 1965. 

Pandemonium broke out among the nearly 400 people gathered inside the Audubon Ballroom. The chaos spilled on the sidewalk where one suspect, Talmadge Hayer, had to be saved by New York City police officers. Two other men were later arrested and all three were convicted in his death. 

Phil Bertelsen and Nailah Sims produced the documentary. 

"The FBI had eyewitness testimony from presumably the nine informants that were in the room that day about who did the crime," Bertelsen said.

Talmadge Hayer confessed, but the other two alleged gunmen, Thomas Johnson and Muhammad Aziz, have always maintained their innocence. Aziz, now 81, spent 20 years in prison. He said the NYPD informants knew he wasn't in the ballroom that day. 

"I couldn't have done it so they knew what they were doing when they put me in jail," Aziz said.

The Manhattan Distric Attorney's Office recently announced it's opened a preliminary review of the murder. 

"I hope he gets exonerated," Bertelsen said. "I hope he gets a fighting chance at clearing his name once and for all," Sims added.