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Malcolm X killer to go free after 44 years

Thomas Hagan pleaded his case for freedom: To return to his family, to become a substance abuse counselor and to make his mark on what time he has left in this world.

He was dressed in prison greens as he addressed the New York parole board. He had been before that body 14 other times since 1984. Each time, he was rejected.

He was sentenced to 20 years to life imprisonment after being found guilty at trial with two others in 1966. Since March 1992, Hagan has been in a full-time work-release program that allowed him to live at home with his family in Brooklyn five days a week while reporting to a minimum-security prison just two days.

To win his release, Hagan was required to seek, obtain and maintain a job, support his children and abide by a curfew. He must continue to meet those conditions while free. He told the parole board he's worked the same job for the past seven years. He told the New York Post in 2008 he was working at a fast-food restaurant.

Read entire article at CNN