Timeline of events involving murder of Malcolm X

A timeline of key dates leading up to the assassination of civil rights leader Malcolm X and the prosecution of the convicted killers:

— March 9, 1964: Once a leading spokesman for Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam, Malcolm X announces that he is breaking with Elijah Muhammad's Black Muslim group and organizing his own.

— Feb. 21, 1965: Malcolm X is assassinated at age 39 at the Audubon Ballroom in upper Manhattan. Talmadge Hayer, 23, also known as Thomas Hagan, is arrested at the scene after being shot in the leg by a bodyguard.

— Feb. 26, 1965: Norman 3x Butler, 26, is arrested in Malcolm X's killing.

— March 3, 1965: Thomas 15x Johnson, 30, later known as Kahlil Islam, is arrested in the death of Malcolm X.

— March 10, 1965: Hagan, Butler and Johnson are indicted by a grand jury.

— Feb. 28, 1966: Hagan admits during the trial that he took part in the killing but insists that his two co-defendants are innocent.

— March 11, 1966: Hagan, Butler and Johnson are convicted of murder.

— April 14, 1966: Hagan, Butler and Johnson are sentenced to life in prison.

— December 6, 1977: Hagan files an affidavit stating that his two co-defendants are innocent, naming four other co-conspirators.

— June 1985: Butler is released on parole after serving 20 years in prison.

— 1987: Johnson is released on parole.

— Nov. 1992: Hagan's request for early release from a New York prison is turned down.

— March 1998: After spending 19 years in prison for the Malcolm X slaying, Butler is appointed to help run the Harlem mosque where the civil rights leader once preached.

— March 3, 2010: The state of New York grants Hagan parole on his 17th try.

— April 27, 2010: Hagan is freed on parole.