Nostr

Happy 79th birthday to Native American rights activist and political prisoner Leonard Peltier! He was wrongfully convicted of aiding and abetting in killing two FBI agents in Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota, 1975. He was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment and is still incarcerated 46 years later, making him one of the longest-serving political prisoners in the world.

The evidence used to convict Peltier was very controversial. For instance, three witnesses who claimed that Peltier was near the crime scene later recanted their statements, stating that the FBI had threatened them, tied them to chairs, and refused access to their attorney. An impartial expert also concluded that the cartridge from the gun that was used to kill the FBI agents did not come from Peltier’s rifle. In his 1999 memoir, Peltier admitted that he took part in the shoot-out but denied killing the FBI agents.

Peltier has received support from many, such as Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mother Teresa, and Reverend Jessie Jackson. His supporters believe that his sentence was a political act of revenge following the American Indian Movement’s (AIM) struggle for self-determination during the 71-day takeover of Wounded Knee in 1973. Before being imprisoned, Peltier was an active member of AIM, an Indigenous rights advocacy group that campaigns against the racism and police violence experienced by American Indians.

Despite being eligible in 1993, Peltier has been consistently denied parole. He was denied clemency by President Barack Obama in 2017. Peltier ran for US President in 2004, winning the Peace and Freedom Party nomination, receiving 27,607 votes. 2020, he initially ran for Vice President before withdrawing due to health concerns.

“The only thing I am guilty of is struggling for my people,” he once said. However, sadly, Peltier faces the prospect of dying in prison.

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