#Grijalva, Sen. Schatz Lead 34 Lawmakers Urging #PresidentBiden to Pardon #NativeAmericanActivist #LeonardPeltier
From U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Dec 19, 2024
WASHINGTON – "U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Chairman #BrianSchatz (D-Hawai‘i) led a letter signed by 34 Members of Congress to President Biden urging him to grant clemency for renowned Native American rights activist Leonard Peltier in the final weeks of his term. Mr. Peltier was convicted of murder in 1977 following a controversial investigation and trial, which many civil rights leaders and legal experts have called unjust, including the U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case.
"In their letter, the lawmakers cite Mr. Peltier’s advanced age and illness, and stress that a presidential pardon is the last remaining hope for his freedom.
"'Despite the grave concerns surrounding the continued imprisonment of Mr. Peltier, who is now 80 years old and suffering from severe health conditions, including increasing vision loss, the Bureau of Prisons denied Mr. Peltier a compassionate release or reduction in sentence in April of this year; and in July 2024, the U.S. Parole Commission denied him parole. These recent denials mean only you have the unique ability to grant him clemency and rectify this grave #injustice that has long troubled #HumanRights advocates and #NativePeoples across the globe,' the lawmakers wrote.
"The lawmakers highlight the Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented record of addressing the country’s history of injustices against Indigenous communities and urge President Biden to cement this legacy by commuting Mr. Peltier’s sentence.
"The letter was also signed by Representatives Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Jesús G. “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Daniel Kildee (D-Mich.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Summer Lee (D-Ohio), Erica Lee Carter (D-Texas), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.), #AlexandriaOcasioCortez (D-N.Y.), #IlhanOmar (D-Minn.), Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.), Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.), #RashidaTlaib (D-Mich.), #JillTokuda (D-Hawai‘i), and #NydiaVelázquez (D-N.Y.), as well as U.S. Senators #MazieHirono (D-Hawai’i), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), #BernieSanders (I-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), #ElizabethWarren (D-Mass.), and Peter Welch (D- Vt.), and former U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).
BACKGROUND
"In 1977, Leonard Peltier was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of two FBI agents. His trial and conviction have been widely criticized by civil rights leaders and legal experts; key evidence was withheld, witnesses were coerced, and critical ballistics information was misrepresented. Mr. Peltier was an active member of the American Indian Movement (AIM), a grassroots movement founded in the late 1960s to organize activism around systemic poverty, discrimination, and police brutality against Native Americans. At the time of Mr. Peltier’s arrest, AIM was under deep scrutiny by the U.S. government.
"Last year, Ranking Member #Grijalva led a bipartisan, bicameral 33-member letter calling on President Biden and the U.S. Department of Justice to grant clemency to Mr. Peltier, as well as in October 2021 and February 2022. Grijalva spoke with Mr. Peltier in 2022 and recounted his description of harsh and often inhumane conditions in federal detention, including long periods of solitary confinement and major challenges in obtaining adequate medical care for his declining health."
Source:
https://www.charkoosta.com/news/grijalva-sen-schatz-lead-34-lawmakers-urging-president-biden-to-pardon-native-american-activist-leonard/article_067787be-bd7e-11ef-9e89-2f59e879ef5e.html
#FreeLeonardPeltier #AmnestyForLeonardPeltier #ClemencyForLeonardPeltier #AmericanIndianMovement #AIM #FBI
