One of the truly interesting aspects of this release is the circumstances prior. Hagan is only recently being allowed parole after 16 previous unsuccessful attempts. One would think this means Hagan is still incarcerated. Well, it appears Hagan has been on a work release program for over 20 Years!!! Hagan only spends 2 days out of the week actually locked up in his cell at Lincoln Correctional Facility.
Hagan has said he sees no further need for the system to have him incarcerated.
There are many in the African American community who, after learning of the specifics surrounding his release, are shocked! After all, Hagan was convicted of killing one of the most influential leaders for Black people at the height of the civil rights movements. Hagan's assassination of Malcolm X tore a deep divide in the communities of Black people and between the nation. Some people have asked how a person who has taken so much from their lives in the form of leadership and identity would be allowed to be released. Others feel it incomprehensible Hagan has been allowed to be on a 20+ year work release program spending only 2 days a week actually incarcerated.
Restorative justice activists believe the release of Hagan offers more than a freedom ticket for him personally. It is an opportunity to re-integrate Hagan into the very same community he that he has taken so much. It allows Hagan to take accountability for his actions and to take the opportunity to repair some of the harm he has done. Under a restorative justice framework, Hagan's actions have not only affected the immediate family of Malcolm but it has also affected the community itself. Hagan, the Malcolm X family and the community are all stakeholders in the crime. They all gave up something on February 21, 1965. Even Hagan himself has acknowledged this fact. So, where do we go from here? What needs to happen?
