Two men wrongfully imprisoned for years in the murder of civil rights activist Malxolm X are jointly awarded $36 million in damages. In one case, the money is paid out posthumously because the former prisoner has already died.

X was an important driver in the fight against the inequality of black Americans. He was also controversial because he believed their rights should be enforced by force if necessary. On February 21, 1965, at the age of 39, he was shot dead while trying to start a speech at a meeting in New York.

The motive for the murder was never established, but it may have stemmed from X’s involvement with the Nation of Islam, the politico-religious organization for which he became known. Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam were arrested shortly after the attack along with a third person, all three of whom were supporters of the Nation of Islam.

Aziz and Khalil have maintained their innocence from the start, and the third inmate also testified that they had nothing to do with the murder. Although they also had an alibi and there was no physical evidence, they were sentenced to life imprisonment based on testimonies. Both were released on parole in the 1980s.

The two’s convictions were overturned last year when it became clear that witnesses had been intimidated and exculpatory evidence on file withheld. This recognition came too late for Khalil, who passed away in 2009. Aziz, now 84, and Khalil’s family have been negotiating the amount of compensation that the state and the city of New York will pay for the last year.

A spokesman for the city of New York hopes this will bring peace to Aziz and Khalil’s family, who have paid millions of dollars in damages. “Hopefully this will bring some sense of justice to two people who have been imprisoned for decades and have endured the unjustified stigma of murdering an iconic figure.”