Leonard Peltier: America’s Mandela and Last Political Prisoner

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As recently reported in the national media, Native American activist Leonard Peltier’s “parole” was denied. Mr. Peltier, who has been imprisoned since 1975, is now 79 years old and in poor health.

I am proud to be one of the attorneys on his request for executive clemency that is currently pending with President Biden.

Pine Ridge Reservation Conflict: The Controversial Conviction of Leonard Peltier

In 1975, Leonard Peltier was convicted of the murder of two government agents after a violent confrontation at Oglala on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota that pitted the American Indian Movement (AIM) and local Lakota Sioux against law enforcement officers. Two other AIM members were acquitted in a separate trial, but Peltier received two consecutive life sentences.

Unwavering Support: Leaders and Icons Unite for Peltier’s Freedom

Peltier’s freedom has been called for over the years by Coretta Scott King, Chief Wilma Mankiller, the Pope, Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, and Nelson Mandela, as well as the United Nations, Amnesty International, the Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights.

A documentary was made by Robert Redford, and everyone from Bob Dylan to Willie Nelson to Madonna to Rage Against the Machine has repeatedly spoken up for him.

Most notably, after evidence was revealed of the FBI’s use of false testimony and withholding of evidence, both the U.S. Attorney at the time of his appeal and a federal judge who heard the original appeal have come forward urging clemency for Peltier. 

Nearly thirty years ago, famed civil rights attorney William Kuntsler (Chicago 7, Attica Prison Riots, Black Panthers, et al.) appeared on campus at University of Oklahoma to talk about the great injustice done to not only Mr. Peltier, but to all Native Americans. Mr. Kuntsler, who passed away not long after his visit to campus, also spoke of the danger for any person who could be falsely accused of any crime.

Reevaluating Leonard Peltier’s Conviction: No Evidence of Guilt, Says U.S. Attorney

After studying the history and court records, the logical and evidentiary conclusion is that Leonard Peltier did not kill the two FBI agents at Oglala on Pine Ridge in 1975. Any claim that Peltier was present during the shootout is not a crime, and is further nullified by the fact that many others, to include women and children who were fired upon by the FBI, were also present.

Even the U.S. Attorney who oversaw the case has since declared there was no evidence “to prove Mr. Peltier personally committed any offense.” After two acquittals of those believed to be the actual shooters, the FBI then decided that the only one left standing was Leonard Peltier and he would be the one to pay for the sins of others. 

Time and scientific advancements have exposed significant flaws in our criminal justice system, none more glaring than the plight of Leonard Peltier, often considered America’s last “political prisoner.” After nearly 50 years in prison, there remains no evidence that Peltier killed anyone, and his struggle must not be forgotten. As William Blackstone famously said, “It is better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent person suffer.”

Remember Leonard Peltier.