📢 Free Leonard Peltier
“Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?” - Henry David Thoreau
People Power United stands firmly against all types of hatred and bigotry. Friends, today I am asking you to take a few moments to learn about a case against Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist and a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.
Peltier was charged and convicted for his role in the death of two FBI agents in a shootout at Pine Ridge in South Dakota in June of 1975. There were two other people involved and charged with the shooting, but they got off in self-defense.1
A former FBI agent who worked on this case has stated:
“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.”
Leonard Peltier has served 49 years in a maximum security prison, and it is time he is released.
Over the past several decades of Mr. Peltier’s federal incarceration, calls for his release have received widespread and growing support from both faith and human rights leaders – including Pope Francis, Saint Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, and Coretta Scott King – as well as those previously involved in his prosecution. James H. Reynolds, the U.S. Attorney who handled the prosecution and appeal of Mr. Peltier’s case, previously stated that Mr. Peltier’s “conviction and continued incarceration is a testament to a time and a system of justice that no longer has a place in our society.” He further explained that Mr. Peltier has served his sentence “on the basis of minimal evidence, a result that [he] strongly doubt[s] would be upheld in any court today.” The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a 17-page legal opinion reviewing Mr. Peltier’s case, concluding that he “continues to be detained because he is Native American.” 2
Leonard is up for a parole hearing, and we want to urge them to grant him freedom. Will you take 1 (one) minute and sign on to our petition?
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Peltier
https://www.indian.senate.gov/newsroom/press-release/democratic/schatz-leads-group-of-senators-urging-u-s-attorney-general-garland-to-allow-for-the-compassionate-release-of-leonard-peltier/