International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee contact@whoisleonardpeltier.info

Native American activists are making a final push to urge President Obama to grant executive clemency to activist Leonard Peltier.

Peltier was convicted of killing two agents in a shootout between the FBI and the American Indian Movement (AIM) activists during the 1973 siege of Wounded Knee.  Witnesses say two unmarked cars drove onto Lakota property, and a firefight broke out resulting in the death of two FBI officers and one native man. Peltier was arrested after a massive manhunt and extradition from Canada and sentenced to two life sentences after ballistic evidence matched shell casings with the AR-15 he reportedly fired.

Peltier’s story has become a rallying issue for native rights activists and recently gathered the support of former US Attorney James Reynolds who publicly called upon President Obama for the release in a statement released earlier this week.  Since taking office, Obama has extended acts of clemency for 1,324 individuals, one of the largest for a president.

Cynthia Dunne is a lawyer with the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee.  She says his failing health conditions and age of 72 makes this his last chance for freedom.

Listen:  

If unpardoned by President Obama, the next opportunity for Peltier’s parole would be in 2024.

Source:  http://hawaiipublicradio.org/post/one-last-chance-activist-leonard-peltier

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