By Elena Fasullo
NEW YORK, NY- On June 10, Native American activist and member of the American Indian Movement Leonard Peltier was again denied parole after 50 years in prison for a crime he maintains he did not commit, according to Amnesty International.
Amnesty International detailed that in 1975, Peltier was convicted of the murder of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, but Peltier has maintained his innocence.
In an interview in 1991, Peltier stated, “The only thing I’m guilty of is struggling for my people, but I didn’t kill those agents.”
Amnesty International has examined this case since the original trial and continues to campaign on his behalf. Amnesty International said it recently sent a letter to the U.S. Parole Commission urging Peltier be granted parole.
However, the U.S. Parole Commission moved to deny Peltier’s request for parole after a hearing on June 10.
In response, Paul O’Brien, the executive director of Amnesty International USA, charged there have been numerous concerns with the fairness of the original trial.
AI said Federal Appeals Judge Gerald Heaney concluded that it was not a fair trial, stating, “The Prosecution withheld evidence favorable to the defendant,” and, “The FBI used improper tactics in extraditing Peltier and otherwise in investigating and trying Peltier’s case.”
O’Brien’s statement noted Peltier is now approaching 80 years old and suffers from many chronic health problems, some of which could be fatal.
Peltier was denied parole in 2009. Due to his age and health conditions, this trial may have been his last opportunity for parole, Amnesty International stated.
Bruce Smith, a former prison guard, noted, “They’re giving him the death penalty by leaving him in that type of environment. The man needs medical treatment…if they’re not going to give him medical treatment, they need to release him as soon as possible.”
In the press release by Amnesty International, O’Brien added, “Continuing to keep Leonard Peltier locked behind bars is a human rights travesty…Leonard Peltier has been incarcerated for far too long. The parole commission should have granted him the freedom to spend his remaining years in his community and surrounded by loved ones. ”
Amnesty International, in its statement, noted President Biden has continued to commit to granting clemency on a rolling basis and currently has a request for Peltier pending.
As written in a New York Times article by Kenneth P. Vogel and Annie Karni, Biden’s approach to clemency could allow the president to “make good on his campaign promise to weave issues of racial equity and justice throughout his government.”
O’Brien added, “No one should be imprisoned after a trial riddled with uncertainty about its fairness. We are now calling on President Biden, once again, to grant Leonard Peltier clemency on humanitarian grounds and as a matter of mercy and justice.”
