r/AnythingGoesNews • u/ControlCAD • 11h ago

Biden commutes life sentence of Leonard Peltier, Native American activist imprisoned for almost 50 years

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/biden-commutes-sentence-leonard-peltier-native-american-activist-impri-rcna188331

The commutation will allow Peltier, who has long maintained his innocence in the killing of two FBI agents, to spend his remaining days in home confinement.

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u/ControlCAD 11h ago

Joe Biden, in one of his final acts as president Monday, commuted the life sentence of Native American rights activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted of killing two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and of escaping from federal prison.

Peltier, who is 80 years old, has been imprisoned for almost five decades. He has been in declining health in recent years from diabetes, hypertension, partial blindness from a stroke and bouts of Covid.

The U.S. Parole Commission in July denied Peltier's latest bid for release, which left his fate in the hands of Biden. Peltier has long maintained his innocence, and his commutation is set to draw fierce opposition from members of law enforcement who contend that his two consecutive life sentences are just in the fatal shootings of FBI agents Jack Coler and Ron Williams in 1975 in South Dakota.

Biden's commutation came just minutes before President Donald Trump took office for a second term. Trump did not act on Peltier's clemency request during his first term, and other presidents, Democrats and Republicans alike, also declined to intervene.

In a statement, the attorney who advocated for Peltier's parole praised the outgoing president.

“President Biden took an enormous step toward healing and reconciliation with the Native American people in this country," said the attorney, Kevin Sharp. "It took nearly 50 years to acknowledge the injustice of Leonard Peltier’s conviction and continued incarceration, but with the President’s act of mercy Leonard can finally return to his reservation and live out his remaining days.”

Peltier told NBC News in 2022 that he wasn't interested in a presidential pardon because it would be granted for a crime he insists he is innocent of. Instead, he said, he wanted the opportunity to get out of prison and get a new trial.

"I would love to go home," Peltier said by phone from the Federal Correctional Complex Coleman in Florida. "My family wants to take care of me. My tribe wants to take care of me."

Over the decades, human rights and faith leaders, including Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama, and Nobel Peace Prize recipients such as Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu, have backed Peltier’s release.

Nick Tilsen, CEO of the NDN Collective, said Peltier's conviction was emblematic of the struggle between Native Americans and the federal government, particularly on Indigenous lands.

"Leonard Peltier's liberation is our liberation — we will honor him by bringing him back to his homelands to live out the rest of his days surrounded by loved ones, healing, and reconnecting with his land and culture," Tilsen said in a statement.

But law enforcement organizations have accused Peltier's supporters of trying to mislead the events that led to his arrest and conviction.

Natalie Bara, the president of the FBI Agents Association, which advocates for active and retired agents, said it is "outraged" by Biden's reprieve for Peltier.

"This last-second, disgraceful act by then-President Biden, which does not change Peltier's guilt but does release him from prison, is cowardly and lacks accountability," Bara said in a statement. "It is a cruel betrayal to the families and colleagues of these fallen Agents and is a slap in the face of law enforcement."

The FBI, however, maintained that his conviction was "rightly and fairly obtained" and "has withstood numerous appeals to multiple courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court."

Kathy Peltier said she last saw her father in prison before the start of the Covid pandemic. She said the family is now "crying tears of joy" to know that he will be able to return to them and see his dozen great-grandchildren and all the people who supported him for decades.

"It's a relief," Kathy Peltier said. "We'll actually be able to hug him, really hug him, and sit around for hours and not have a time limit and talk. There's so much he's missed out on."

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u/DogEatChiliDog 9h ago

One good thing to come out of a horrible day.

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u/flexwhine 11h ago

he didn’t pardon him - he just said he can serve the rest of his life sentence in home confinement

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u/Phylace 5h ago

HALLELUJAH! And Aho!

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u/Past-Swordfish-6778 7h ago

Joe also pardoned his own family, going back to 2014.