Early
this year I filed a petition for clemency and an application for
compassionate release to President Barack Obama for the release of
Leonard Peltier.
Mr.
Peltier, now aged 72, has now served nearly 41 hard years, six in
solitary confinement. Unless President Obama releases him, Leonard
Peltier will die in prison.
Leonard
Peltier is in poor health, and is a threat to no one. Mr. Peltier is
next eligible for parole in 2024. The last months, at the pipeline
demonstrations in North Dakota pictures and protests on behalf of
Leonard have again shown the Native Americans reverence for Leonard. The
Clemency Petition does not seek forgiveness or a pardon, it asks
President Obama to commute Mr. Peltier’s sentence and to permit him to
live his remaining years at home.
A
Clemency Petition and an application for compassionate release are not
about Leonard’s guilt or innocence – it is about all of the issues that
Leonard Peltier has come to represent during four decades in prison,
including among other things: the historic injustices against Native
Americans; the distrust between Native communities and federal law
enforcement agencies; the poverty and polarized conditions on Pine Ridge
Reservation in the 1970s which were exasperated, in part, by an
ineffective federal response; the ensuing violence that drove Pine Ridge
to become the murder capital of the nation; and, the circumstances that
led up to, contributed to and followed the June 26, 1975 shootout, in
which two young FBI agents and one young American Indian lost their
lives on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
One
of the more chilling documents annexed to the Clemency Petition is a
report of William Muldrow, who reported his observations to his
superiors at the US Civil Rights Commission. He observed warrantless
searches, detentions without cause, a military response with hundreds of
agents swarming the Oglala Lakota community in an aggressive manner,
and federal representatives making false and misleading statements to
the press. He concluded that the complaints of over-reaching coming from
the Oglala Lakota Nation (on Pine Ridge Reservation) were
“sufficient[ly] credi[ble] to cast doubt on the propriety of the actions
of the FBI, and raise questions about their impartiality and focus of
their concern.”
Nearly
twenty-five years ago, Judge Gerald Heaney of the Eight Circuit Court
of Appeals, who presided on two appellate panels that considered Mr.
Peltier’s appeals at different stages (and authored one of the
decisions), wrote to the Senate Committee in 1991:
“Leonard
Peltier was tried, found guilty, and sentenced. He has now served more
than fourteen years in the federal penitentiary. At some point, a
healing process must begin. We as a nation must treat Native Americans
more fairly. To do so, we must recognize their unique culture and their
great contributions to our nation. Favorable action by the President in
the Leonard Peltier case would be an important step in this regard.”
There
is no question that Mr. Peltier’s release would resound as a positive
step towards reconciliation throughout Indian Country, and would
demonstrate by Executive action that under today’s worldview American
Indians are valued members of our society. As Professor James Anaya,
former United Nations Rapporteur for Indigenous Rights wrote to you by
letter dated October 28, 2015:
“In
my opinion, if Leonard Peltier dies in jail, then he will likely die a
martyr and the relationships and progress that you and your
Administration have worked so hard to forge likely will be dealt a
significant set-back… I respectfully submit that the time has come for
the significant interests of law enforcement to yield to the significant
interests of fundamental fairness and reconciliation and healing with
America’s first peoples… There are very few things that a sitting
President can do to signal significant and meaningful reconciliation for
America’s first peoples, but as I pointed out in my 2012 [United
Nations] report, granting Clemency to Leonard Peltier is one of them.
Such action would resonate as a sign of singular importance for the
equal application of the rules of the justice system to all indigenous
peoples in this country.”
In
addition, the National Congress of American Indians, the largest and
most representative Indian organization in the nation, has urged
reconciliatory action, as referenced in its October 12, 2015 letter,
where it states:
“Mr.
President, you are faced with a profound opportunity to build upon all
of the wonderful work you have done addressing the inequalities that
continue to face the first peoples across the nation and addressing the
history of oppression and distrust. By granting Executive Clemency to
Leonard Peltier you will be sending a statement to the world that going
forward America will not sanction injustices and unfairness towards
indigenous peoples.”
Viewing
the case through today’s lens with the benefit of hindsight, a picture
emerges of intolerance, misunderstanding, prejudice, lack of
accountability and a disregard for the civil rights of a marginalized
American Indian community.
Among
the supporters of this Clemency Petition are globally respected
scholars, activists, and professional organizations, Nobel Peace
Laureates, Amnesty International, the National Congress of American
Indians, representatives of the United Nations and many others. The fact
human rights leaders in the United States and throughout the world
remain committed to Leonard Peltier forty years later, is itself a
compelling indicator that saving Leonard Peltier’s life is worthwhile
and the American justice system failed in this case to live up to its
standards.
The
deaths of Special Agents Jack A. Coler and Ronald A Williams was a
tragedy, and nothing in this letter or in Mr. Peltier’s Petition is
meant to minimize the gravity of the offense or the pain that their
families have endured. Mr. Peltier has repeatedly expressed his remorse,
regret, and sadness that the events of June 26, 1975 led to the deaths
of young men engaged in their official duties. He is particularly sad
that the events of that day led to continuing pain for the families of
Agents Coler and Williams.
Whether
President Obama grants Clemency or fails to “reckon with the past,” his
decision will be a star and will set a precedent about law
enforcement’s treatment of America’s first peoples. By supporting this
Petition, you have an opportunity to stand on the side of history that
sends an unambiguous message to Indian Country and the world that our
nation respects and values its first citizens and that we are ready to
seize a better future.
Martin Garbus
Attorney at Law
Attorney at Law
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