Leonard Peltier is guilty only of caring about his people and his family. If we don't do something to assist in his release - you could be the next person convicted and sentenced just for caring, or maybe your spouse, or daughter or son.
Leonard is an American Indian serving two consecutive life sentences in a federal penitentiary, even though there is NO CREDIBLE EVIDENCE that he is guilty of anything. He is a political prisoner of the U.S. Government!!!
On June 26, 1975 two FBI agents allegedly searching for a young Indian accused of stealing a pair of used cowboy boots spotted several men enter a red pick-up truck. They followed the truck briefly. The occupants of the truck pulled over. Shots were fired though no one knows who fired first. Soon the situation exploded into a firefight involving 30 or so Indian men, women, and children and over 150 FBI agents, BIA police, US Marshals and the local police known as GOONs. Two agents and a young Indian activist died. Within hours of the shootout, according to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which labeled it "a full scale vendetta", hundreds of paramilitary equipped, combat-clad FBI agents and US Marshals staged a dragnet through the reservation in a fever of revenge in which men, women, and children were terrified and properties and homes were ransacked.
There has never been ANY investigation into the death of the Native American killed that day. See more on this here.
Leonard had been previously identified as an AIM leader by the FBI and targeted by their notorious COINTELPRO program which "neutralized" people by slander, attack, and arrest. Fearing no possibility of a fair trial and at the request of his elders, he fled to Canada where he was later arrested and extradited by affidavits manufactured by the FBI that the government now concedes were false and fabricated. NOTE: This means the extadition was in fact an illegal act, and the Supreme Court of Canada has stated (in 1989) that if the extradition was fraudulent, Leonard should be returned to Canada, where he would be a free man. Read here, how the Canadian Minister of Justice has obviously become a pawn and puppet to the wishes of the U. S. Department of Justice.
Four men were initially accused of murder in the deaths of agents Williams and Coler. Two were acquitted and the government dropped all charges against the third to concentrate their "full prosecutorial weight. against Leonard Peltier." He was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. The handpicked judge, favored by the FBI for his anti-Indian reputation, refused evidence of self defense. Information from the acquittals of his codefendants was also ruled inadmissible. Jurors were convinced by the court that AIM "snipers" would kill them at any time. The jury was keep sequestered and heavily guarded. In short Leonard Peltier was convicted before his trial even began.
The government has subsequently changed its theory on who killed the agents and today admits they have NO IDEA WHO KILLED THEM. This change of theory came about during an appeal when a judge suggested to the prosecution that the evidence was, at best, merely circumstantial. The government then argued that they had tried Leonard as both the murderer and aider and abettor. According to the final decision of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, Peltier's trial and previous appeals had been riddled with FBI misconduct and judicial impropriety including: coercion of witnesses, perjury, fabrication of evidence, and the suppression of exculpatory evidence which could have proved his innocence. The Court called the FBI's misconduct "a clear abuse of the investigative process". Yet they ruled against a new trial for Leonard Peltier because they were "reluctant to impute further improprieties to them (FBI)." Recently it was discovered that a terrible error had been made during the appeal by Leonard's own attorney during which he mistakenly agreed with the judge regarding the testimony of Norman Brown. What the attorney and the judge did not realize was that Brown had recanted his testimony at trial and stated he had been coerced by the FBI. He further stated that he never saw Peltier anywhere near the bodies of the agents. We also now know that other agents were stationed around the area prior to the start of the firefight, in direct contradiction to their testimony at trial. This was discovered in September 1995 following the release of radio communications from the South Dakota Attorney General's office. A document has been unearthed stating that almost two months prior to the day of the shoot-out, the FBI was planning "paramilitary law enforcement...on Indian land", specifically, Pine Ridge. It may also be noted that the highest buildup of agents to civilians occurred just six days prior to the tragic incident.
It is obvious to anyone with a conscience that the government was planning to attack the AIM encampment, perhaps in the hopes of diverting attention from an illegal land transfer, or perhaps as a way to stop Senator Frank Church's Committee from investigating the FBI's COINTELPRO program in regard to Native struggles. That investigation was initiated just prior to the shoot-out. It was halted the day after "due to the deaths of the agents." With recent developments in Washington, DC proving the FBI grossly participated in illegally doctoring and manufacturing evidence to ensure criminal convictions, more attention MUST be paid to this renegade organization's past misconduct. Congressional hearings/investigations are critical!
During a parole hearing in December 1995, US prosecutor Lynn Crooks admitted againnearly 6 years after being filed with the Department of Justice. The delay has been excused by government officials as a lengthy revue of a complex case.
1999 NEEDS to be the year of JUSTICE for LEONARD PELTIER.
NOTE: Although email addresses are supplied, hard copy postal mail has much more impact - so if you send an email, you might think about also printing that email, putting it in an envelope and mail it to the address supplied. Also, letters that have your full name and address are treated differently than those that don't. If you don't feel comfortable giving your name and address - write the letter anyway, and just leave that off. Write, phone, fax, and email: President William Clinton The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, DC 20500 Phone: (202) 456-1111 (hit 0 to avoid survey) FAX (202) 456-2461 Email: President William Clinton for Executive Clemency
Become totally familiar with the case and the ongoing situation. Visit the International Office of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee.
Join a local Support Group. Contact LPDC for locations.
If no Support Group exists in your area, consider starting one
Contact your elected officials and ask that they support the call for clemency.
Lobby city councils as well as local educational, religious, social, and cultural organizations in generating resolutions and proclamations.
Also email Al Gore for Executive Clemency
cc your clemency letters to: US Pardon Attorney Roger C Adams 500 First Street NW Suite 400 Ref: Leonard Peltier #89637-132 Washington DC 20530 Phone: (202) 616-6070 Also cc your clemency letters to: Charles Ruff G1 725 17th St. NW Washington DC 20503
Deputy Attorney General Mr. Eric Holder 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington DC 20530 Phone: (202) 514-2000 Fax: (202) 514-0467
When writing to BOP or the warden of the prison, be sure to use "Leonard Peltier Register Number 89637-132" so there can be no question as to exactly who you are talking about. Ms. Kathleen Hawk Director, Bureau of Prisons 320 First St. NW Washington, DC 20534 Fax: (202) 514-6878 Phone: (202) 307-3198 Email: Kathleen Hawk Email: swolfson@bop.gov
Warden Booker Leavenworth Federal Prison Box 1000 Leavenworth, KS 66048
To reach your Congressperson or Senator by Phone Call (202) 224-3121 Also write the Congressperson from your district.
HOUSE WEBPAGE for addresses and contact numbers. http://www.house.gov/ The Honorable (full name ) United States House of Representatives Washington DC 20515
Write the Senators from your state. SENATE WEBPAGE for addresses and contact numbers. http://www.senate.gov/ The Honorable (full name ) United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 Write to Leonard Peltier (he can receive US postal money orders, photos (not Polaroid), and paper back books) USPL Leonard Peltier #89637-132 PO Box 1000 Leavenworth, KS 66048
For More Information: Leonard Peltier Defense Committee PO Box 583 Lawrence, KS 66044 Phone: (785) 842-5774 Fax: (785) 842-5796 Email us at: lpdc@idir.net
