Leonard Peltier has been mentioned in about 50 posts here in the forum. This news was posted without comment in another, unrelated thread. I think it deserves its own topic:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/biden-commutes-sentence-leonard-peltier-native-american-activist-impri-rcna188331
Some background and updates:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Peltierhttps://www.britannica.com/biography/Leonard-Peltierhttps://www.npr.org/2025/02/18/nx-s1-5300606/leonard-peltier-commutation-fbi-biden-pine-ridgehttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/19/us/leonard-peltier-homecoming-north-dakota.htmlhttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/leonard-peltier-native-american-activist-released-prison-biden-commute-rcna192253https://apnews.com/article/leonard-peltier-native-american-rights-fbi-prison-release-ff3fd1d8cb47f3ee193d1291b6b3f8cfThe FBI has an extensive article (yes I know, contested contents), not updated since 2022. I wonder why, after four months, they haven't reported yet:
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/resmurs-case-reservation-murdersMost Recent Legal Action
In 1993, and again in 1996, the U.S. Parole Commission denied parole to Peltier.
In 2000, Peltier petitioned President Clinton for clemency. President Clinton did not act on the petition.
In 2009, the U.S. Parole Commission denied Peltier's release on parole. At the parole hearing, Thomas J. Harrington, executive assistant director of the FBI's Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch, made a statement before the parole commission, stating that, "[T]he facts of this case have not changed. ...During the shootout with Mr. Peltier and his associates,...Special Agents Coler and Williams were wounded. However their wounds were not fatal. Mr. Peltier approached these two agents…then shot both agents at point blank range. ...This act of brutality was not an isolated incident. ...To grant parole to an unrepentant murderer would only inflict more pain and suffering [on the thousands of FBI special agents and their families inspired by the service of Coler and Williams].”
In 2016, representatives for Peltier petitioned President Obama for clemency and compassionate release. President Obama did not grant the petition.
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice denied a petition from Peltier's representatives for a commutation of Peltier’s sentence.
