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Imprisoned for 50 Years: Amnesty Calls for Leonard Peltier's Freedom as He Turns 80 Behind Bars

Supporters of Leonard Peltier are calling on President Biden to grant clemency to the Indigenous leader and activist, who marked his 80th birthday behind bars on Thursday after nearly a half-century in prison for a crime he says he did not commit. The ailing Peltier, who uses a walker and has serious health conditions, including diabetes, has always maintained his innocence over the 1975 killing of two FBI agents in a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation. His conviction was riddled with irregularities and prosecutorial misconduct, and he is considered to be the longest-serving political prisoner in the United States. For much of the last four years, Peltier has been held under near-total lockdown. For more on Peltier and the campaign to free him, we speak with Nick Tilsen, president of the NDN Collective, and two attorneys on Peltier’s legal defense team, Jenipher Jones and Moira Meltzer-Cohen.

Democracy Now! I 2024

President Biden: Executive Clemency for Leonard Peltier Now!

“As long as they hold Leonard Peltier, they hold a piece of every single one of us,” Rachel Dionne-Thunder, a member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and Indigenous Protectors Movement.

What is happening to Leonard is happening to all of us.We are in a time of extreme adversity–From Leonard’s parole denial to both Democratic and Republican support of the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, is disheartening. Coupled with Supreme Court mandated laws targeting unsheltered people and removing protections for Mother Earth, and the investment in cop cities and prisons to accommodate more incarcerations, feels heavy for all of us. Still, our spirit and traditions of our people carry us forward. As Leonard refuses to give up on us, we refuse to give up on him–and all our relatives everywhere.

We take the fight to #FreeLeonardPeltier to the White House. Join us in telling President Biden to grant Executive Clemency for our relative

NDN Collective I 2024

Message from Leonard Peltier to the World After 4th Parole Attempt Denied

“I am not intending to give up. And I’m hoping none of you give up,” 79 year-old Leonard Peltier shared in a phone call with Nick Tilsen, President and CEO, after the US Parole Commission’s denied Peltier’s Parole.

NDN Collective I 2024

NDN LIVE | #FreeLeonardPeltier Caravan & Freedom Rally | Mni Luzahan (Rapid City, SD)

Lorenzo Serna, NDN Collective’s Director of Tactical Media joins local organizations, partners, allies, and long time advocates in Mni Luzahan (so-called Rapid City, South Dakota) for a rally and caravan for our relative Leonard Peltier.

NDN Collective I 2024

"He wants to know people are fighting for him": Take action for Leonard Peltier

TRN Podcast host Nick Estes (@nickwestes) welcomes Nick Tilsen (@nicktilsen) from NDN Collective back to the show to discuss Leonard Peltier’s upcoming parole hearing and the international coalition fighting to get him released after almost five decades of incarceration for crimes he didn’t commit.

LISTEN: Apple Podcasts

The Red Nation – Nick Estes with Nick Tilsen I 2023

#FreeLeonardPeltier 79th Birthday Action I Washington, DC

Sunny Red Bear, NDN Collective’s Associate Director of Organizing shares why she took action to #FreeLeonardPeltier on his 79th Birthday in Washington, DC.

NDN Collective I 2023

Free Leonard Peltier I LANDBACK For The People Podcast S1 Ep. 6

For nearly 50 years, Indigenous organizers, activists, and allies have dedicated themselves to fight against the unjust incarceration of Indigenous movement leader, Leonard Peltier. In Episode 6 of the LANDBACK For The People, Nick Tilsen delves into the complexities of the longest serving Indigenous political prisoner alongside trusted legal and government affairs partners fighting for Leonard Peltier’s freedom. EPISODE GUESTS: Holly Cook Macarro, Red Lake Ojibwe, NDN Collective Government Affairs and Bruce Ellison, Criminal Defense Attorney

LISTEN: Spotify, Apple Podcasts

NDN Collective I 2023

Native Bidaské with Kevin Sharp on Leonard Peltier’s Upcoming Parole Hearing

Levi Rickert, Founder and Publisher of Native News Online, interviews former federal judge Kevin Sharp about Leonard Peltier’s parole hearing on Monday, June 10.

Native News Online – Youtube I May 2024

Former Federal Judge & Peltier Lead Attorney Kevin Sharp - CBS News Interview

CBS | February 2022

For nearly five decades, Amnesty International - the non-partisan global human rights organization - has documented serious concerns about the legal process which led to Leonard Peltier’s conviction and sentencing.

Amnesty International: Urge parole for Native American activist Leonard Peltier

Amnesty International – Global Call To Action | May 2024

PRESS ARTICLES

“This administration, the Biden Administration, has said that Native American rights are a priority to them, and yet they’ve got the longest sitting Indigenous political prisoner locked up and we’ve seen no action from the federal government,” Tilsen said. “If he dies in prison this will forever be a part of that administration’s legacy as it relates to Native people.”

Leonard Peltier: I hope I make it to June 10

Indian Country Today | April 2024

Seven senators urged the president in a letter to grant Peltier clemency, citing “mounting evidence of clear misconduct” during his trial that, they wrote, “has warranted outcry from the very officials who put Mr. Peltier behind bars.”

The Man Missing from Biden's Remarks

Politico | November 2022

Supporters of Peltier Hold White House Rally, 35 Arrested

AP | September 2023
(AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Sharp argues that Peltier “remains a casualty of this country’s cruel and lawless war against American Indians. His continued incarceration, moreover, is a constant reminder to Native communities that they are disposable in the eyes of the U.S. government and unworthy of the most basic protections afforded by our Constitution.”

Leonard Peltier's 46 Years in Prison: "What Else Do You Want?"

Indian Country Today – Mark Trahant & Aliyah Chavez | October 2022

“The focus of my two cents leading to my joining the call for clemency is based on Peltier’s inordinately long prison sentence and an ever more compelling need for simple mercy due to his advanced age and deteriorating health. Enough is enough. Leonard Peltier should now be allowed to go home.”

Coleen Rowley Retired FBI Special Agent & Minneapolis Division Legal Counsel.

FBI’s opposition to releasing Leonard Peltier driven by vendetta, says ex-agent

The Guardian | January 2023

“As Members of Congress, we sign this letter with a deep commitment to the crucial role we play in upholding justice for all Americans — and to also hold our government accountable when we see a case of injustice, as demonstrated by the long incarceration of Leonard Peltier,” reads their letter to Biden, which was led by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.).

33 Lawmakers Urge Biden to Release Peltier

HuffPost | October 2023

“Biden doesn’t want to piss off the FBI because they want somebody locked up, even if it’s not the right person. That’s a political prisoner.”

Peggy Mainor

Joe Biden Is Going To Have To Talk About Leonard Peltier

HuffPost (Jen Bendery) | September 2023

“When I’m talking to tribal leaders…whether it’s about freeing Leonard Peltier or addressing the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people or the legacy of boarding schools, there’s a lens of justice that is very, very prominent in Indian Country. If ever there was a time going into an election [to free Peltier], the time is now.”

Fawn Sharp

Top Indigenous Leaders Press Biden On Why He Hasn’t Freed Leonard Peltier

HuffPost (Jen Bendery) | August 2023

Peltier, who is currently detained in Coleman, Florida, has spent 46 of the past 47 years in maximum security. Multiple recommendations to lower his prisoner classification, so that he can be transferred to a less restrictive prison closer to his family, have been rejected.

Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier in plea for clemency after 47 years in jail

The Guardian (Nina Lakhani) | February 2023

Nothing is more emblematic of the mistreatment of American Indians and the uneven hand of the criminal justice system than the handling of his case by the federal government. Leonard Peltier has galvanized generations of Indigenous activists and grassroots movements, yet he remains in confinement.

Hundreds Of Indigenous Artists, Hollywood Stars Urge Biden To Release Leonard Peltier

HuffPost (Jennifer Bendery) | December 2022

Peltier has been deprived of his liberty “in contravention of articles 2, 7 and 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 2 (1), 9 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” says the legal opinion. The opinion also cites discriminatory comments made by his parole examiners in concluding, “Mr. Peltier continues to be detained because he is Native American.”

U.N. Human Rights Legal Experts Call For Immediate Release Of Leonard Peltier

HuffPost | July 2022

“His conviction rests solely on the fact that he was present at the shootout with a weapon that day — not that he fired a fatal shot or had any hand in killing anyone", said James Reynolds, former U.S. Attorney.

Supporters Seek Clemency for Native American Activist

New York Times Article (Mark Walker) | February 2022

“I write today from a position rare for a former prosecutor: to beseech you to commute the sentence of a man who I helped put behind bars,” he wrote. “With time, and the benefit of hindsight, I have realized that the prosecution and continued incarceration of Mr. Peltier was and is unjust. We were not able to prove that Mr. Peltier personally committed any offense on the Pine Ridge Reservation.”

James Reynolds

Leonard Peltier is America's Longest-Serving Political Prisoner. Biden May Be His Last Hope.

HuffPost article (Jennifer Bendery) | November 2021