WASHINGTON ― Native American rights activist Leonard Peltier, who has been in prison for nearly 50 years, is turning 80 on Thursday ― and Amnesty International USA is appealing to Joe Biden to finally release him before his presidency comes to an end.
Peltier “was recently denied parole and compassionate release by the US Parole Commission and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) respectively,” reads a Sept. 4 letter to Biden from Paul O’Brien, the group’s executive director.
“As President of the United States, you have the opportunity to rectify a case that has long troubled human rights advocates and Indigenous Peoples worldwide,” O’Brien wrote.
Peltier has been in prison since the U.S. government put him there in the 1970s. He was convicted for the murder of two FBI agents during a 1975 shootout on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, and was given two consecutive life sentences.
But there was never evidence that Peltier killed anyone. His trial featured astounding levels of misconduct, including federal prosecutors hiding exculpatory evidence and abruptly changing their charge to aiding and abetting after someone found the evidence they’d hidden.
The FBI never did figure out who killed those agents; the federal prosecutor in Peltier’s case, Lynn Crooks, later admitted as much. But the U.S. government needed someone to go to prison. Peltier ― a member of the American Indian Movement, a grassroots Indigenous activist group the FBI was targeting ― was one of dozens of people present at the shootout, and was the only person left to go after. He was separated from his co-defendants, all of whom had been acquitted on grounds of self-defense, and was found guilty.
As the years have rolled by, Peltier’s imprisonment has drawn outcry from U.S. politicians, tribal leaders, celebrities and international human rights leaders including Pope Frances, the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela. His parole process has violated international standards, drawing unusual condemnation from United Nations human rights legal experts, who in 2022 called his prolonged imprisonment “arbitrary” and simply the result of his being Native American.
Peltier has maintained his innocence all these years. The FBI has said he should never be released, offering outdated and incorrect statements to justify his imprisonment. Peltier was up for parole earlier this year, but was denied.
He is considered America’s longest-serving political prisoner.
In his letter to Biden, O’Brien pleaded with the president to consider Peltier’s health risks as he remains in a maximum security prison in Florida.
“He suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure, the effects of a previously suffered stroke and complications from jaw surgery. He was diagnosed with an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA), which can be fatal if it ruptures,” O’Brien wrote. “The BOP is plagued by staffing shortages of medical professionals ... This shortage limits the ability of incarcerated individuals to access medical care, which could have deadly consequences for Mr. Peltier.”
“This is not only timely but a necessary measure in the interests of both justice and mercy,” O’Brien added, again urging for Peltier’s sentence to be commuted.
Asked for comment in response to Amnesty International’s letter, a White House spokesperson referred HuffPost to the Justice Department.
“We don’t comment on individual pardon petitions,” said the spokesperson.
The Justice Department didn’t have anything to say, either.
“The department declines to comment,” said Dena Iverson, principal deputy director of DOJ’s Office of Public Affairs.
Amnesty International USA has increasingly made Peltier’s release a focus of its efforts. In June, the group asked the U.S. Parole Commission and the Bureau of Prisons to grant Peltier parole or compassionate release, respectively. Both agencies denied the group’s requests.
Justin Mazzola, a researcher with Amnesty International USA, said in a statement that allowing Peltier to be home with his family and community in his final years would be a meaningful step to “help mend the fractured relationship between Native Americans and the government.”
It would also be “forever be part of Biden’s legacy,” he said.
“Keeping an 80-year-old man with various health issues locked behind bars for the rest of his life doesn’t serve justice,” Mazzola said. “We hope that President Biden finds it in his heart to release Leonard Peltier as a matter of humanity, mercy, and human rights.”