Special to the Vanguard
In advance of a parole hearing on June 10 for Native American activist Leonard Peltier, Amnesty International urged the U.S. Parole Commission to grant him parole on humanitarian grounds.
In a letter sent to members of the parole commission, Amnesty International USA’s Executive Director, Paul O’Brien, reiterated concerns about the legal process that led to Peltier’s 
conviction and sentencing, noted Peltier’s age, length of time served, and his critical health issues, urging the commission to grant him parole.
“Given the ongoing, unresolved concerns about the fairness of Leonard Peltier’s incarceration, that he has spent nearly 50 years in prison, his age, and ongoing and chronic health issues, granting parole on humanitarian grounds in this case is not only timely but a necessary measure in the interests of both justice and mercy,” wrote O’Brien.
Leonard Peltier, now 79 and in deteriorating health, was convicted in relation to the killing of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1975. He maintains his innocence and his June 10 parole hearing might be his last opportunity for freedom. Amnesty International joins Tribal Nations, Tribal Leaders, Indigenous Peoples, Members of Congress, former FBI agents, Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and the former U.S. Attorney James Reynolds, whose office handled Peltier’s prosecution and appeal, in urging his release.
Amnesty International has examined Peltier’s case extensively for many years, sent observers to his trial in 1977, and long campaigned on his behalf.
