Leonard Peltier denied parole - gets 15-year hit

American Indian activist denied parole

Aug 21 2009

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley says imprisoned
American Indian activist Leonard Peltier has once again been
denied parole.

Wrigley says the next scheduled hearing for Peltier is 2024,
when Peltier would be 79 years old.

Peltier is serving two life sentences for the execution-style
deaths of FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams during a
June 26, 1975, standoff on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

He was convicted in Fargo, N.D., in 1977. He has claimed the FBI
framed him, which the agency denies, and unsuccessfully appealed his
conviction numerous times.

Peltier had a full parole hearing for the first time in 15 years last
month at the Lewisburg, Pa., federal prison where he is being held.

Defense attorney Eric Seitz declined comment on the U.S. Parole
Commission decision Friday, saying the Justice Department had not informed
him.

pdf file of the parole commission's written decision Click here