Archive: Statements of Support

Amnesty International

On June 23, 1995, for example, Amnesty International (AI) submitted a letter of concern about the Peltier case to the U.S. Attorney General. With no executive review of the case forthcoming, in 1999, AI called for Leonard Peltier’s release. Before the U.S. Congress, in 2000, AI issued this statement:

“Amnesty International considers Leonard Peltier to be a political prisoner… Amnesty International believes that Leonard Peltier should be immediately and unconditionally released.”

In briefings to the United Nations since 1992, AI has actively pursued Leonard Peltier’s freedom. AI submitted a briefing to the U.N. Human Rights Committee in February 2006 (updated in early July 2006), in which AI again called for Leonard Peltier’s release. After the U.S. Parole Commission denied Peltier parole in August 2009, senior deputy director of Amnesty International-USA, Curt Goering, stated:

“Given that the case against Peltier unraveled years ago, his continued imprisonment is only protracting a grave miscarriage of justice… When you consider the concerns that plague the case… it is unconscionable that Leonard Peltier should continue to suffer behind bars. It is high time for the U.S. government to… right the wrongs of the past.”

In 2012, AI again called for Leonard’s release.

Other Support

United Nations Commission on Human Rights: Civil and Political Rights, Including the Questions of Torture and Detention; Religious Intolerance [Written statement submitted by the International Indian Treaty Council, a non-governmental organizations in special consultative status]

Support Letter from Paul Berg, Former BIA Employee at Pine Ridge.

Parole Support Letter from Judith Furlong, Former Pine Ridge Teacher and Reign of Terror Witness

Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to President Clinton to urge clemency.

Statement of Congresswoman Maxine Waters Urging President Clinton to Grant Executive Clemency to Leonard Peltier.

Letter from Congressman Don Edwards, Former FBI Agent

Letter from NCAI

Letter signed by World Renowned Human Rights Leaders

Affidavit from private investigator, Eda Gordon stating that interviews with trial witnesses confirmed FBI coercion.

“Appeal for the Release of Leonard Peltier,” Released by Amnesty International U.S.A.

“Statement About FBI Involvements on Pine Ridge Reservation” by William F. Muldrow, Former Director (Retired), Rocky Mountain Regional Office, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

Warren Allmand’s Statement on the Leonard Peltier Case, November 1, 1999

Eyewitness Journalist Kevin McKiernan Urges Closure for Divisive Period in Indian History. Kevin McKiernan “was there on June 25, 1975, outside the Jumping Bull ranch on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, when some of the bullets were flying.” In his editorial, he provides eye witness account to the “climate of fear” on Pine Ridge at the time, saying that “it matched anything I have experienced reporting from war zones like El Salvador and the Middle East.” Mr. McKiernan concurs with Judge Heaney who wrote in his clemency plea, “At some time, the healing process must begin. We as a nation must recognize their unique culture and their great contribution to our nation.”

Jenner & Block Law Offices: Document Submitted to the U.S. Parole Commission on December 13, 1995 [Includes numerous quotes by Assistant United States Attorney, Lynn Crooks, in 1985 and 1992 arguments before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, that the government “does not know” who shot the two agents.]

Unanimous Resolutions to Free Peltier Passed at Historical Meeting Between the NCAI and AFN

National Lawyers Guild: Letter to President Clinton Requesting Clemency

Resolution to the U.S. President to Grant Clemency or Pardon to Leonard Peltier by NYSU-AFT | AFL-CIO: United University Professions

Listing of Noted Personalities Helping to Secure the Freedom of Leonard Peltier

Statement by Congressman Joe Kennedy: “…problems found with the evidence are grounds for a new trial.”

Statement of Congressman John Conyers, Jr. on Leonard Peltier

Gerald Heaney was one of Peltier’s appeal judges who later wrote this letter expressing his concern over the standing conviction. This is Judge Heaney’s October 2000 letter affirming his position stated in his previous letter.

Resolution by the European Parliament to the United States Congress

Appeal from the Parliamentary Party, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (AL)/UFV in the House of Representatives in Berlin, to President Clinton to Grant Presidential Clemency to Leonard Peltier

Letter to Attorney General Janet Reno from Senators Wellstone, Inouye, Deconcini and Campbell requesting an Evidentiary Hearing to examine the serious claims of government misconduct surrounding Peltier’s trial.

Letter to President Clinton from Representative Morella requesting executive clemency for Leonard Peltier

Letter of Request to Attorney General Janet Reno from 18 Congressional Representatives to “order a thorough, independent review of [Peltier’s] case, the allegations of misconduct on the part of the federal government, and the Justice Department’s role in the pursuit of this case.”

Letter to the President from 16 Congressional Representatives requesting Executive Clemency for Leonard Peltier

Lac Courte Oreilles Governing Board of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians: Letter to President Clinton, attached to “Resolution to Support Executive Clemency for Leonard Peltier”