District Attorney’s case file, 1963-1999, bulk: 1965-1966
Scope and Contents
This series comprises the subject files created and used by the New York County District Attorney's office to prosecute Norman Butler, Thomas Hagan, and Thomas Johnson for the February 21, 1965 murder of Malcolm X. District Attorney Frank Hogan supervised the case, Assistant District Attorney Herbert Stern interrogated witnesses, and Vincent Dermody served as prosecutor at the trial. Most of the folders are labeled with the names of witnesses to the crime who were interviewed during the police investigation.
The bulk of the material (1965-1966) consists of handwritten notes taken by Assistant District Attorney Herbert Stern during interviews with eyewitnesses to the crime, signed carbon copies of interviews conducted by the New York Police Department (NYPD), and a transcript of the grand jury proceedings. The New York Police Department (NYPD) interviews are located in the folders titled "New York Police Department (NYPD) Reports" (Box 1, Folders 3-4), with the exception of the interviews recorded by Detectives Cavallaro and Keeley. Interviews by those two detectives are located in the folders under their names. Many of the original folders were found empty and have been marked as such; however, some interviews may be found in related folders. A bound copy of the grand jury proceedings is located in Box 2, and, in some cases, statements made before the grand jury were copied and filed under the names of the interviewees.
This series also contains correspondence, hospital records, the medical examiner's records, news clippings, photographs, printed materials, and handwritten notes taken by the prosecutor during the trial. Moreover, some of the items that the NYPD recovered from the crime scene are located in this series, including ballistic evidence and papers found on the body of Malcolm X. The series includes an evidence envelope indicating it contains a red diary (referred to as a "red notebook" in the trial). The envelope is empty (evidence presented at trials is typically maintained by the Supreme Court and not returned to the District Attorney). In 1999 a clerk of the Supreme Court stole the diary from a court vault and attempted to sell it. A subsequent FBI investigation recovered the diary, which was later returned to Malcolm X's family. Color photographs of the diary taken by the FBI are located in Box 2, Folder 66. Photographs of other evidence originally assembled by the District Attorney's office and NYPD, such as a sock bomb and segment of camera film, can be found in Series 2, Box 7, Folder 6 (sock bomb photo: page 4228; film photo: page 4230). These items are not in the collection. It is unclear how the rope located in Box 2, Folder 67 is related to the crime or investigation.
The bulk of the material (1965-1966) consists of handwritten notes taken by Assistant District Attorney Herbert Stern during interviews with eyewitnesses to the crime, signed carbon copies of interviews conducted by the New York Police Department (NYPD), and a transcript of the grand jury proceedings. The New York Police Department (NYPD) interviews are located in the folders titled "New York Police Department (NYPD) Reports" (Box 1, Folders 3-4), with the exception of the interviews recorded by Detectives Cavallaro and Keeley. Interviews by those two detectives are located in the folders under their names. Many of the original folders were found empty and have been marked as such; however, some interviews may be found in related folders. A bound copy of the grand jury proceedings is located in Box 2, and, in some cases, statements made before the grand jury were copied and filed under the names of the interviewees.
This series also contains correspondence, hospital records, the medical examiner's records, news clippings, photographs, printed materials, and handwritten notes taken by the prosecutor during the trial. Moreover, some of the items that the NYPD recovered from the crime scene are located in this series, including ballistic evidence and papers found on the body of Malcolm X. The series includes an evidence envelope indicating it contains a red diary (referred to as a "red notebook" in the trial). The envelope is empty (evidence presented at trials is typically maintained by the Supreme Court and not returned to the District Attorney). In 1999 a clerk of the Supreme Court stole the diary from a court vault and attempted to sell it. A subsequent FBI investigation recovered the diary, which was later returned to Malcolm X's family. Color photographs of the diary taken by the FBI are located in Box 2, Folder 66. Photographs of other evidence originally assembled by the District Attorney's office and NYPD, such as a sock bomb and segment of camera film, can be found in Series 2, Box 7, Folder 6 (sock bomb photo: page 4228; film photo: page 4230). These items are not in the collection. It is unclear how the rope located in Box 2, Folder 67 is related to the crime or investigation.
Extent
2.25 cubic feet (5 boxes)
Dates
1963-1999, bulk 1965-1966
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Patrons are requested to use the digitized version of this collection in order to protect the original records.
Additional Description
Arrangement
The series is arranged alphabetically by subject and therein chronologically by date.
Physical Location
Shelf 17387-17391