President Joe Biden on Monday commute The verdict of Native American activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted of killing two FBI agents in South Dakota nearly 50 years ago.
Peltier, 80, is a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band in Chippewa, North Dakota.
Biden’s order when he took office is to take effect on February 18th. A statement from Biden said Peltier should serve the remainder of his life sentence at his home.
NDN Collective, an indigenous rights group in Rapid City, South Dakota, issued a news release Monday celebrating Peltier’s commute. This release contained quotations attributed to Peltier. “It’s finally over. I’m going home. I want to show the world that I’m a good person and good person. I want to help people, as my grandmother taught me.”
Peltier’s sister, Betty Anne Peltier, welcomed the news.
“I’m going to cook him the biggest meal I can,” she said. “Fry bread and food he hasn’t eaten in years.”
She says her siblings are suffering from the effects of diabetes, and has heart problems and uses pedestrians.
She said there was a house waiting for him on the Turtle Mountain reservation, but she hopes he will be with her in Fargo.
She had not yet communicated with her brother as of Monday morning.
According to the FBI, agents Ron Williams and Jack Coller were about to arrest a suspected robber in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, in 1975. Agents pursued the vehicle, and there was a Peltier among the people inside. A fatal shootout ensued in which two agents and Joseph Stanz, a member of the American Indian Movement, were killed. Peltier claims he is innocent.
Kevin Sharp, a law firm at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight based in Nashville, Tennessee, represented Mr. Peltier for five years and filed a former generous petition in December 2019, in 2021. It was revised again in 2019.
“President Biden has taken a major step towards healing and reconciliation with the Native Americans of this country. It took nearly 50 years to acknowledge Leonard Peltier’s beliefs and the unjustification of his continued incarceration. , the president’s act of mercy allows Leonard to eventually return to his reservation and live for the rest of his days,” a court in the Central District of Tennessee.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said in a statement that his office was strongly opposed to the changes to Peltier’s sentence and called the agent’s death “a cold-blooded murder.”
“That conviction has since been reviewed and endorsed by more than 22 federal judges,” Jackley said Monday.
Tracy Wilkie of Fargo said she grew up on the Turtle Mountain reservation and heard Leonard Peltier.
She called herself “a lifelong supporter and organizer for his freedom.” She helped lead the Pelletier gathering last year when he was on parole, This was rejected.
The rally was on the stairs of the federal courthouse in Fargo, where Peltier was found guilty.
“So many people have worked behind the scenes,” Wilkie said. “It’s going to give hope to a lot of people.”
Peltier has recently served two consecutive life conditions in Florida in prison.
Biden’s statement said tribal countries, Nobel Peace Prize winners, former law enforcement officers (including former US lawyers whose office oversaw the prosecution and appeal of Peltier) and human rights groups support Peltier’s acceptance of leniency. It’s there. They cite Peltier’s senior age, illness, his close relationship and leadership in the Native American community, and a considerable amount of time he has already spent in prison.
State Rep. Jame Davis, a Turtle Mountain citizen, D. Lorett, is one of Peltier’s supporters. She said her father attended school in Bellcourt with Peltier.
“That’s great,” Davis said from the North Dakota Legislative Conference in Bismarck after hearing the news. “I was on the committee when I heard the news and almost screamed.”
Nick Tilsen, founder and CEO of NDN Collective, credited commutation with “50 years of intergenerational resistance, organisation and advocacy.”
“Leonard Peltier’s liberation is our liberation. We bring him back to our hometown and honor him by healing and healing the rest of our days surrounded by our loved ones, and reunite with his land and culture. “Tilsen said.
This story was updated with a response. North Dakota Monitor reporters Mary Steurer and South Dakota Searchlight staff contributed to this report.
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