Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chair Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) called on President Biden to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist convicted of murdering two FBI agents in a controversial 1977 trial, before he leaves office.
Peltier is “among those who deserve grace and mercy,” Schatz said on the Senate floor Wednesday.
“If there was ever a case that merited compassionate release, Leonard Peltier’s is it,” he continued. “This is exactly what that awesome presidential power is for: to right a historic wrong. And if not that, then to show mercy and let an old man die with his family.”
Peltier, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota, was active with the American Indian Movement (AIM) in the 1970s. He joined a contingent of AIM activists who traveled to the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota during a period of tension between Lakota tribe members and tribal Chair Richard Wilson.
He was charged with murder after a shootout that led to the 1975 deaths of FBI agents Ronald Arthur Williams and Jack Ross Coler, but the conviction has remained highly contentious.
A key witness for the prosecution has since admitted to lying about her relationship with Peltier and having witnessed him fire the shots; a juror who admitted to personal prejudice against Native Americans was allowed to remain; and prosecutor James Reynolds has since said Peltier was convicted on “minimal evidence” and called for the commutation of his sentence.
Two associates of Peltier’s were also charged with the murders but were acquitted due to evidence that was not allowed in Peltier’s trial.
High-profile individuals and organizations calling for Peltier’s release have included Pope Francis, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, and the late Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
The FBI has maintained its opposition to clemency for and the release of Peltier, with Director Christopher Wray calling him a “remorseless killer.”
Peltier, who was denied parole earlier this year, is in failing health, according to loved ones, including vision loss and multiple bouts with COVID-19.
