Leonard Peltier Marks 40 Years in Prison

And, he is ill.

Leonard Peltier has been in prison for longer than he was a free man. He was convicted in 1977 of murdering two Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents in June 1975, despite serious concerns about the fairness of his trial.

Saturday marks his 40th year in US custody, the American Indian Movement (AIM) leader writes in his open letter published by CounterPunch.

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Peltier concluded his letter with a thank you to his supporters around the world: “You all worked hard — are still working hard — to spread the word about what is now being called the most outrageous conviction in U.S. history. If I should be called home, please don’t give up on our struggle. In the Spirit of Crazy Horse…”

  RT

The Wounded Knee occupation of 1973 marked the beginning of a three-year period of political violence on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The tribal chairman hired vigilantes, self titled as “GOONS,” to rid the reservation of American Indian Movement (AIM) activity and sentiment. More than 60 traditional tribal members and AIM members were murdered and scores more were assaulted. Evidence indicated GOON responsibility in the majority of crimes but despite a large FBI presence, nothing was done to stop the violence. The FBI supplied the GOONS with intelligence on AIM members and looked away as GOONS committed crimes.

Leonard Peltier was an AIM leader and was asked by traditional people at Pine Ridge, South Dakota, to support and protect the traditional people being targeted for violence.

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Three teenaged Native witnesses testified against Mr. Peltier, they all later admitted that the FBI forced them to testify. Still, not one witness identified Mr. Peltier as the shooter.

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Following the discovery of new evidence obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, Mr. Peltier sought a new trial. The Eighth Circuit ruled, “There is a possibility that the jury would have acquitted Leonard Peltier had the records and data improperly withheld from the defense been available to him in order to better exploit and reinforce the inconsistencies casting strong doubts upon the government's case." Yet, the court denied Mr. Peltier a new trial.

  FreeLeonard

The case.