LEONARD PELTIER IS REFUSED PAROLE:
Native American rights activist Leonard Peltier was reviewed for parole during a hearing held at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas to determine whether there is any reason why the Parole Commission should change their 1993 decision to deny Peltier parole. Peltier's representatives told the Commission that Peltier's health, serious family needs, and positive program achievements were all reasons for the Commission to reconsider their denial of parole to Peltier. They also argued that the Commission's original decision to deny parole was wrong. They said the Commission has yet to justify its reasons for denying his release in excess of what their guidelines recommend.
The Parole Examiner refused to read a report from Dr. Peter Basch, who, after reviewing Peltier's recent medical records, determined that problems with Peltier's health could result in "recurrent central retinal vein occlusion, stroke, heart disease, and kidney failure." The doctor also noted that several of Mr. Peltier's health problems had not been treated appropriately by prison medical staff.
Attending the parole hearing were representatives for Amnesty International, the National Council of Churches, the National Congress of American Indians, and the Assembly of First Nations. Legal counsel included attorneys Jennifer Harbury, Carl Nadler, and former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark. Jean Ann Day, survivor of the Pine Ridge "reign of terror" also testified.
The Parole Examiner did not respond to pleas from Amnesty International or the National Council of Churches, and he showed no interest in the eight parole plans offering Peltier housing and employment from various Native organizations and tribes.
Furthermore, the Examiner refused to accept or consider the 10,000 letters collected over the last three months from US citizens, human rights organizations, luminaries, and members of the international community supporting Peltier's release.
Without deliberation or the consideration of any documents presented, the Parole Examiner recommended that Peltier's sentence be continued until his next full parole hearing in 2008. Those in attendance reported that the Examiner wrote the denial while the presentation was still being made.
Peltier's defense council will continue to protest the Parole Commission's denial of parole to Peltier in federal court. Supporters will continue efforts to gain Peltier's release through a grant of Executive Clemency. Leonard Peltier was originally convicted of the murders of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. However, formerly withheld documents supporting Peltier's innocence would later force the prosecution to admit that they could not prove who actually killed the agents. Despite this, Peltier has remained in prison for 24 years. Amnesty International considers him to be a political prisoner who should be immediately released.
The best chance to now end the unjust continued imprisonment of Leonard Peltier is his petition for Presidential Executive Clemency, which has been in limbo since filed in 1993. The review for the Clemency process usually takes six to nine months. In almost six years, the Justice Department has not responded to President Clinton's request for its recommendation.
Call the White House Comments Line Today. Demand Justice for Leonard Peltier! (202) 456-1111.
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
PO Box 583 Lawrence, KS 66044
785-842-5774 <www.freepeltier.org>