Truemors
is reporting from
Member
NP Rank:
NP Rank:
Leonard Peltier Federal Parole Board Hearing Held July 28, 2009
Share:
by Jarrett Martineau | July 28, 2009 at 09:51 am
2014 views | 14 Recommendations | 5 comments
Leonard Peltier, the Native American activist, will attend his first full Federal Parole Board hearing in over 15 years on July 28, 2009, after having spent more than 33 years in prison.
Leonard Peltier was an active member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) who was charged with the murder of two FBI agents in connection with events surrounding a shootout at the Jumping Bull Ranch on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in 1975.
Peltier has maintained his innocence and rallied the support of millions of people worldwide who believe he was wrongfully convicted and that circumstances of his prosecution and trial were unfair and compromised.
Leonard Peltier will be 65 years old in September. He is currently serving two consecutive life sentences in prison and is widely considered to be the United States' most prominent indigenous "political prisoner".
Peltier's supporters have established the website Who is Leonard Peltier? to provide more information on his case.
Videos
DN! Imprisoned Native American Activist Leonard Peltier Parole Hearing Tuesday
sourced by Jarrett Martineau
Democracy Now also has an extensive audio interview with Peltier from July 27, 2009: Leonard Peltier Speaks From His Jail Cell
Native American activist Leonard Peltier has been in prison for more than 12,226 days, more than 33 years, certainly one of the longest ordeals of any political prisoner in human history.
With him, our souls have suffered. Our bodies ache for his freedom.
Today, July 28, 2009, Peltier goes before his Federal Parole Board in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. All over the world, beginning in the wee hours of the morning in the South Pacific, prayer vigils, peace marches, ecumenical gatherings, group chantings and all forms of individual meditation will accompany this hearing. It is in many ways one of the most important tests of the new Obama Administration.
Peltier was previously denied parole in 1993.
At his last hearing, the Parole Commission originally denied Peltier parole in 1993 based on their finding that he “participated in the premeditated and cold blooded execution of those two officers.” However, the Parole Commission has since said it “recognizes that the prosecution has conceded the lack of any direct evidence that [Peltier] personally participated in the executions of the two FBI agents.” Peltier has long maintained his innocence and is widely considered a political prisoner who was not granted a fair trial.
Advertisement
NowPublic on Facebook
What is NowPublic?
NowPublic lets people work together to cover news events around the world.
Most Recommended Comment
Crowd Power
Jarrett Martineau
Vancouver, Canada
Most Recommended Stories in World
Recommendations (14)
Spydermonkey
huntsville, Alabama, United States
Rhonda J Mangus
North Tonawanda, New York, United StatesAnonymous users (2)
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (5)
at 05:23 on July 29th, 2009
I feel that it is relevant to point out that Leonard Peltier has been incarcerated for thirty three years based upon what your own courts have admitted was fabricated evidence, both withheld, and then later discovered to be tampered with and questionable. Those very courts have admitted that Leonard Peltier did not commit the murders of the FBI agents at the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1976. lt is clear Leonard Peltier was persecuted because of his beliefs and refusal to accept the injustices imposed upon the people at Pine Ridge during that time.
Because of these facts, I feel that the system has failed and the continued incarceration of Leonard Peltier is a sad commentary on the US government and the humanitarian values Americans profess to have. This innocent person has spent 6 years longer in prison than even Nelson Mandela !!
In 2008, Leonard Peltier was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the fifth consecutive year.
Amongst his massive contribution to society he has played a key role in getting people from different tribes, with a history of animosity, to come together in peace. He advocates for peaceful resolution of all issues that deal with Native Americans and respect for the rights of others.
Everyone needs to understand how much this 'true human being' has moved the World, please take a look at this level of international support http://users.skynet.be/kola/vips.html
I express a deep hope that the parole commission and President Obama will come to their senses and grant parole and release to Leonard Peltier on 28th July 2009. The whole World watches in anticipation!
at 07:10 on July 29th, 2009
Even most Natives now believe that Peltier is guilty... I believe that the war like atmosphere @ Pine Ridge in the 70s was the major cause but one can't deny that Peltier executed Agents Coler and Williams from point blank range with his AR-15 rifle... the ballistics in fact do match and if not for messy paperwork first submitted none of this would or could be disputed.
The fact remains... LP murdered two defenseless men from close range...men who hd discharged their weapons only 5 times vs 125 bullet holes in their vehicle... I will not say that the "motive" was not strong or even wrong and the feeling that war was at hand...but LP still pulled the trigger and that is just a fact...
at 06:39 on July 30th, 2009
Get your facts straight bonehead! nearly all American Indians know Leonard is innocent and there is absolute ballistic evidence proving Leonard's gun did not kill those agents and this evidence was intentionally withheld from his trial by FBI agent who confessed the same in 1977 asshole!
REPUBLICAN because Satan is overbooked
CREEP
at 16:50 on August 16th, 2009
We all know who did it, and it sure in the heck is Mr Leonard Peltier, we like the Black Panthers owned many AR-15's and many M-16's and the casings the FBI found didn't match Mr. Leonrad Peltier's rifle. Why did they (FBI's) only took three or four and let all the rest of us run, they could of got us and matched our guns with their found casings. Black Panthers are watching the FBI's so they got scared and only tried three or four people and convicted only one out of 156 people who ran from that compound. That is not JUSTICE !
at 16:42 on August 16th, 2009
Please, consider releasing Mr. Leonard Peltier because we all know many of us during that era like the Black Panthers we all owned AR-15's and the casings the FBI found did not match Mr. Leonard Peltier's rifle. 600 AR-15's and 500 M-16's whose weapon can they match it up to, no one, so they just made everything up and nailed him by revenge. That is not Justice !