Freeing Leonard Peltier Would Be a First Step Towards Justice
The Appeal, 1/14/25: “Who is Leonard Peltier?
An Ojibwe and Lakota, and a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Peltier is an 80-year-old U.S. political prisoner in very frail health. He has spent nearly 50 years in federal prison. Convicted of killing two FBI agents during a firefight on the Jumping Bull ranch in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, on Jun. 26, 1975, his co-defendants, Dino Butler and Robert Robideau, were acquitted. His own original prosecutor, U.S. Attorney James Reynolds, has since called Peltier’s trial unfair, stating that “a grant of executive clemency would serve the best interests of justice and the best interests of our country.” Despite details of prosecutorial misconduct, actual innocence, and judicial bias, Peltier sits languishing in a Federal Bureau of Prison medical facility after five decades in prison.
Leonard Peltier—and all those who have petitioned for clemency—must return home.
As an African American, I, Saleem Holbrook, understand the impact of the forced removal of my ancestors from their land, theft of languages, and destruction of traditions. And as a former child prisoner who was sentenced to death by incarceration at 16, I know what it feels like to be held in prison unjustly for decades. I know firsthand the positive impact people returning home have, not only on individuals but on their entire communities, and just how much it would mean to the Indigenous community and Leonard Peltier’s family to see him free to live his final days in dignity.
On Jul. 2, 2024, Peltier was denied parole. If President Biden doesn’t exercise his power and grant him clemency, he will die in prison. Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples S. James Anaya notes, ‘Mr. Peltier’s ongoing incarceration remains a powerful symbol of the federal government’s unfair treatment of its Indigenous Peoples.’
The Abolitionist Law Center (ALC), the organization I lead, has partnered with Popular Democracy, the country’s largest national network of power-building organizations across 34 states, Puerto Rico, and DC, and the People’s Coalition for Safety and Freedom (PCSF), a five-state coalition fighting to repeal and replace the 1994 crime bill. We are calling for both clemency and the dismantling of our criminal legal system at every level of government.”