#clemencyforleonardpeltier — Public Fediverse posts

Minnesota tribal leaders call for #Biden to commute #LeonardPeltier's sentence

by Melissa Olson, January 14, 2025

"A group of over 120 elected current and former tribal leaders from across the United States are calling on President Joe Biden to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier, a longstanding political activist convicted in 1977 in the murder of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, according to a story first published Monday by HuffPost.

"Peltier is a member of the #AmericanIndianMovement, a grassroots Native American organization formed in Minneapolis in the late 1960s in response to police violence.

“'For the majority of his life, Leonard Peltier has been serving a sentence based on a conviction that would not hold up in court today and for a crime that the government has admitted it could not prove. Mr. Peltier’s continued incarceration is a symbol to Native Americans of the systemic inequities of the criminal justice system in America,' read the letter from tribal elected officials published on #NDNCollective.

"The letter was signed by over a dozen elected tribal officials in Minnesota, including president of the #LowerSioux Indian Community Robert Larsen, who verified the accuracy of the letter to MPR News, as well as Chair of #BoisForteBand of Chippewa Cathy Chavers and Chief Executive of the #MilleLacs Band of# Ojibwe Virgil Wind, who signed the letter as President of the Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes.

"Faron Jackson, chair of the #LeechLakeBand of Ojibwe, also signed the letter. Jackson spoke to MPR News while attending the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe annual state of the band address Tuesday.

"'I think it was an injustice from day one,” said Jackson. “He’s been sitting in prison for almost 50 years on a lot of circumstantial evidence that just didn’t add up to justice.'

"Peltier, a citizen of the #TurtleMountainBand of #Chippewa in North Dakota, is currently serving two life sentences at a federal prison in Florida. Peltier has maintained his innocence since he was first imprisoned."

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/01/14/minnesota-tribal-leaders-call-for-biden-to-commute-leonard-peltier-sentence
#FreeLeonardPeltier #AmnestyForLeonardPeltier #ClemencyForLeonardPeltier #AIM

It’s time for justice: Why #LeonardPeltier must be granted clemency

by Donald ‘C-Note’ Hooker, December 11, 2024

"Leonard Peltier’s story is one of profound injustice. Born in 1944 on the #TurtleMountainChippewa Reservation in North Dakota, Peltier grew up amid systemic neglect, poverty and the long shadow of federal policies designed to undermine Native sovereignty. By the 1970s, he had become a leading figure in the American Indian Movement (AIM), which fought to address the systemic injustices faced by Indigenous communities. This activism, however, placed him directly in the crosshairs of government surveillance and repression.

"On June 26, 1975, a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota left two FBI agents, Ronald Williams and Jack Coler, dead. The incident occurred against the backdrop of extreme violence and federal overreach on the reservation. Peltier, along with Robert Robideau and Darrelle Butler, was charged with the agents’ deaths. While Robideau and Butler were acquitted on grounds of self-defense, Peltier fled to Canada, where he was later extradited under false pretenses based on coerced testimony.

"Peltier’s trial in 1977 was marred by prosecutorial misconduct, including the suppression of key ballistics evidence that could have exonerated him. Testimony from Myrtle Poor Bear, a witness who later admitted she had been coerced by the FBI, was used to secure his extradition and conviction. Despite these glaring issues, Peltier was sentenced to two consecutive life terms. His imprisonment has since been widely condemned by #HumanRights organizations, including #AmnestyInternational, as well as legal experts and former law enforcement officials.

"Crucially, neither the judicial nor legislative branches sentenced Leonard Peltier to death or life without parole. Yet, through repeated parole denials, he has effectively been condemned to die in prison. This abuse of the parole system undermines the fundamental principles of justice and due process, particularly when significant flaws in his trial have been acknowledged by figures like Judge Gerald Heaney, who presided over Peltier’s appeal.

"Leonard Peltier’s continued imprisonment is not just about one man – it is a reflection of a justice system that fails to protect marginalized communities from systemic abuses. His case is a glaring example of how unchecked power and political motivations can devastate lives and perpetuate injustice."

https://sfbayview.com/2024/12/its-time-for-justice-why-leonard-peltier-must-be-granted-clemency/

#FreeLeonardPeltier #ClemencyForLeonardPeltier #AmnestyForLeonardPeltier #AIM #USPol #FBI #ACAB #USJusticeSystem #Clemency #PresidentBiden #FalseTestimony #AmericanIndianMovement #PineRidge #MyrtlePoorBear #FBICoercement #AnnaMaeAquash