President Obama, please grant Peltier clemency

From:    "Political Prisoner News" <ppnews@freedomarchives.org>
Date:    Wed, September 2, 2009

President Obama, please grant Peltier clemency

September 2, 4:04 PM
[]
 Deborah Dupre'

Six-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, American
political prisoner Leonard Peltier was
unsuccessful at his hearing on 28 July, 2009, the
first full parole hearing held in the case since
1993. Parole was denied so is petitioning
President Obama for Executive Clemency.

A worldwide outpouring of support for Peltier's
release has included Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
Nobel Peace Prize winners Nelson Mandela and
Rigoberta Menchu, the U.N. High Commissioner on
Human Rights, the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso,
the European Parliament, the Belgian Parliament,
the Italian Parliament, the Kennedy Memorial
Center for Human Rights, Rev. Jesse Jackson and
several American Indian nations and organizations
including the National Congress of American
Indians and the Assembly of First Nations
according to
<http://Peltier%E2%80%99s%20support%20over%20the%20years%20have%20been%20from%20Archbishop%20Desmond%20Tutu,%20Nobel%20Peace%20Prize%20winners%20Nelson%20Mandela%20and%20Rigoberta%20Menchu,%20the%20U.N.%20High%20Commissioner%20on%20Human%20Rights,%20the%2014th%20Dalai%20Lama%20Tenzin%20Gyatso,%20the%20European%20Parliament,%20the%20Belgian%20Parliament,%20the%20Italian%20Parliament,%20the%20Kennedy%20Memorial%20Center%20for%20Human%20Rights,%20Rev.%20Jesse%20Jackson%20and%20several%20American%20Indian%20nations%20and%20organizations%20including%20the%20National%20Congress%20of%20American%20Indians%20and%20the%20Assembly%20of%20First%20Nations.>Native
American Times.

Over 500 VIP and celebrity
<http://www.freepeltiernow.org/support.htm>Peltier
supporters have requested his release.

In addition to concerns about fairness of his
conviction, parole was sought by Peltier and his
lawyer based on his good conduct record in prison
and arrangements made by the Turtle Mountain
tribe to receive him into their community on his release.

In 1976, Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier was
arrested and illegally imprisoned for a crime he
did not commit according to
<http://freepeltiernow.blogspot.com/2009/09/solidarity-with-leonard-peltier.html>Friends
of Peltier organization.

Amnesty International “regretted the US Parole
Commission’s decision not to grant Leonard
Peltier parole despite concerns about the
fairness of his 1977 conviction for murder.

The organization called for the immediate release
on parole of the activist, who is serving two
consecutive life sentences and has spent more
than 32 years in prison.” (Press Agency Emmegi,
<http://www.reporterfreelance.info/2009/08/usa-denial-of-parole-to-leonard-peltier-after-more-than-32-years-in-prison-disappointing/>USA:
Denial of parole to Leonard Peltier after more
than 32 years in prison, disappointing, August 22,2009)

"Why should Americans care about this case?" the Friends group asks.

"The very same government tactics used to bring
about Peltier's wrongful conviction are being
applied today­not for the sake of "national
security," as is claimed, but simply to quash
dissent," according to Arthur J. Miller, a
co-coordinator for the Tacoma Leonard Peltier Support Group.

The group is appealing to President Obama to
grant Executive Clemency to Peltier.

The United States Courts of Appeal have
repeatedly acknowledged investigative and
prosecutorial misconduct in this case but, by
their decisions, refused to take corrective
action. A model prisoner, Leonard also has been
denied fair consideration for parole and Executive Clemency.

The
<http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Peltier_Clemency2008/>petition
to President Obama is below.
************************************************
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

Leonard Peltier, an innocent man, was convicted
for the 1975 shooting deaths of two agents of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation. U.S. prosecutors
have repeatedly admitted that they did not and
cannot prove Peltier's guilt and the appellate
courts have cited numerous instances of
investigative and prosecutorial misconduct in
this case. As late as November 2003, the 10th
Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged that "Much
of the government's behavior at the Pine Ridge
Reservation and its prosecution of Mr. Peltier is
to be condemned. The government withheld
evidence. It intimidated witnesses. These facts are not disputed."

The courts claim they lack the power to right
this wrong. But, as President, you can.

In this case, your concern should be for equal
treatment. From the time of Peltier's conviction
until the mid-1990s, according to the Bureau of
Justice Statistics, the average length of
imprisonment served for homicide in the United
States ranged from 94 to 99.8 months. Even if you
were to take Peltier's two consecutive life
sentences into account at the higher end of this
range, it is clear that Peltier should have been
released a very long time ago. His continued
imprisonment after over 30 years appears to be
nothing less than revenge for a crime Mr. Peltier
did not commit. Personalized and politically
motivated vengeance of this kind cannot be
tolerated. The concepts of justice and good
government require that you act to correct this wrong.

Peltier has served his time. Even by the
government's own definition, he has already been
imprisoned for a lifetime. In that time, he has
missed the simplest things of ordinary life --
having dinner with friends, taking walks in the
woods, gardening, children's laughter, dogs
barking, the feel of rain on his face, the sound
of birds singing... winter and summer and spring
and fall. He has missed seeing his children and
grandchildren grow up. They suffer, too. Mr.
Peltier is now a great-grandfather. How many more
generations must suffer this tragedy?

After careful consideration of the facts in Mr.
Peltier's case, we have concluded that Leonard
Peltier does not represent a risk to the public.
First, Mr. Peltier has no prior convictions and
has advocated for non-violence throughout his
prison term. Furthermore, Mr. Peltier has been a
model prisoner. He has received excellent
evaluations from his work supervisors on a
regular basis. He continues to mentor young
Native prisoners, encouraging them to lead clean
and sober lives. He has used his time
productively, disciplining himself to be a
talented painter and an expressive writer.
Although Mr. Peltier maintains that he did not
kill the agents, he has openly expressed remorse and sadness over their
deaths.

Most admirably, Mr. Peltier contributes regular
support to those in need. He donates his
paintings to charities including battered women's
shelters, half way houses, alcohol and drug
treatment programs, and Native American
scholarship funds. He also coordinates an annual
gift drive for the children of the Pine Ridge
Indian Reservation -- a successful program that,
in 2006, expanded to include other reservations throughout the country.

Leonard Peltier is widely recognized in the human
rights community for his good deeds and in turn
has won several human rights awards including the
North Star Frederick Douglas Award; Federation of
Labour (Ontario, Canada) Humanist of the Year
Award; Human Rights Commission of Spain
International Human Rights Prize; and 2004 Silver
Arrow Award for Lifetime Achievement. Mr. Peltier
also has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize six times.

Leonard Peltier is over 60 years old and his
health is deteriorating. He has suffered a stroke
which left him partially blind in one eye. For
many years, Peltier had a seriously debilitating
jaw condition which left him unable to chew
properly and caused consistent pain and
headaches. Today, Mr. Peltier continues to suffer
from diabetes, high blood pressure, and a heart
condition. He risks blindness, kidney failure,
stroke, and certainly premature death given his
diet, living conditions, and health care.

We, the undersigned, say enough is enough, Mr.
President. Do the right thing. Grant Executive
Clemency to Leonard Peltier right away.

Thank you for giving fair consideration to Leonard Peltier.

----------
The group requests supporters sign the
<http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Peltier_Clemency2008/>petition
and to Call the White House Comment Line:
202-456-1111 / 202-456-1112 to say, "Mr. President, Free Peltier NOW!"

For more information about Peltier, watch the
free movie narrated by Robert Redford,
<http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/index1.htm>Incident at Oglala.




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