Instead of Pardoning a Turkey, Obama Should Free This Man
Thursday, 26 November 2015 00:00 By John Kiriakou, OtherWords | Op-Ed
This year, the president should extend some Thanksgiving clemency to human
beings - starting with Leonard Peltier. (Photo: @Peta_de_Aztlan /Flickr )As
we celebrate Thanksgiving, I've got a suggestion for President Barack Obama.
Instead of following the White House tradition and "pardoning" a turkey
destined for a holiday dinner table, Obama should extend that courtesy to
some of the thousands of human beings caged up in America's federal prisons.
Leonard Peltier should be one of them.
Peltier was a Native American activist on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation in the 1970s. On June 26, 1975, two FBI agents went to Pine
Ridge to look for a young man named Jimmy Eagle, who was wanted for robbery.
Soon after they spotted his car, a shootout ensued.
Both agents and one of the occupants of the car were killed. A later
shootout at the gunman's home ended in two more deaths.
An FBI investigation turned up a gun with Peltier's fingerprints on it,
although there was no evidence he'd been involved in the murder of the
agents. Peltier was placed on the FBI's most wanted list and eventually
captured in Canada.
His trial was controversial.
The prosecution's evidence showed that the two agents were killed at close
range - evidence that hadn't been presented in the trial of two earlier
defendants, who were acquitted. Peltier admitted to firing at the agents
from a distance, but insisted that he hadn't been in close proximity to them
and hadn't killed them.
Nonetheless, Peltier was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life
sentences.
In the years after the trial, new evidence emerged indicating that Peltier
couldn't have killed the agents. An FBI ballistics expert found that the
firing pin and cartridges used in the killings didn't come from Peltier's
gun. And all three witnesses who placed Peltier at the scene of the killing
later recanted, saying that they'd been coerced by the FBI and denied access
to their attorneys.
Even the federal parole board wrote in 1993 that it "recognizes that the
prosecution has conceded the lack of any direct evidence that Peltier
participated in the executions of the two FBI agents."
More than two decades later, Peltier still sits in a federal penitentiary in
Florida, where he won't be eligible for another parole hearing until he's
well into his 80s. He's been incarcerated for 39 years.
An array of progressive, libertarian, and human rights groups have urged for
Peltier to receive clemency. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark acts
as his pro bono attorney. But the only thing that can help Peltier is
presidential action.
It really looks like our government has locked up an innocent man. Isn't it
time to fix it?
With his presidency coming to a close and Thanksgiving today, it's the
perfect time for Obama to offer a gesture to help make amends with our
nation's original people. Instead of pardoning a turkey, he should pardon
Leonard Peltier.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not
be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
JOHN KIRIAKOU
John Kiriakou is an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies.
He's a former CIA officer who blew the whistle on the agency's use of
torture.
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Instead of Pardoning a Turkey, Obama Should Free This Man
Thursday, 26 November 2015 00:00 By John Kiriakou, OtherWords | Op-Ed
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reference not valid.
. This year, the president should extend some Thanksgiving clemency
to human beings - starting with Leonard Peltier. (Photo: @Peta_de_Aztlan
/Flickr )As we celebrate Thanksgiving, I've got a suggestion for President
Barack Obama.
. Instead of following the White House tradition and "pardoning" a
turkey destined for a holiday dinner table, Obama should extend that
courtesy to some of the thousands of human beings caged up in America's
federal prisons.
Leonard Peltier should be one of them.
Peltier was a Native American activist on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation in the 1970s. On June 26, 1975, two FBI agents went to Pine
Ridge to look for a young man named Jimmy Eagle, who was wanted for robbery.
Soon after they spotted his car, a shootout ensued.
Both agents and one of the occupants of the car were killed. A later
shootout at the gunman's home ended in two more deaths.
An FBI investigation turned up a gun with Peltier's fingerprints on it,
although there was no evidence he'd been involved in the murder of the
agents. Peltier was placed on the FBI's most wanted list and eventually
captured in Canada.
His trial was controversial.
The prosecution's evidence showed that the two agents were killed at close
range - evidence that hadn't been presented in the trial of two earlier
defendants, who were acquitted. Peltier admitted to firing at the agents
from a distance, but insisted that he hadn't been in close proximity to them
and hadn't killed them.
Nonetheless, Peltier was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life
sentences.
In the years after the trial, new evidence emerged indicating that Peltier
couldn't have killed the agents. An FBI ballistics expert found that the
firing pin and cartridges used in the killings didn't come from Peltier's
gun. And all three witnesses who placed Peltier at the scene of the killing
later recanted, saying that they'd been coerced by the FBI and denied access
to their attorneys.
Even the federal parole board wrote in 1993 that it "recognizes that the
prosecution has conceded the lack of any direct evidence that Peltier
participated in the executions of the two FBI agents."
More than two decades later, Peltier still sits in a federal penitentiary in
Florida, where he won't be eligible for another parole hearing until he's
well into his 80s. He's been incarcerated for 39 years.
An array of progressive, libertarian, and human rights groups have urged for
Peltier to receive clemency. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark acts
as his pro bono attorney. But the only thing that can help Peltier is
presidential action.
It really looks like our government has locked up an innocent man. Isn't it
time to fix it?
With his presidency coming to a close and Thanksgiving today, it's the
perfect time for Obama to offer a gesture to help make amends with our
nation's original people. Instead of pardoning a turkey, he should pardon
Leonard Peltier.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not
be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
John Kiriakou
John Kiriakou is an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies.
He's a former CIA officer who blew the whistle on the agency's use of
torture.
Related Stories
Showing Solidarity in Chicago: Cindy Sheehan's Tour de Peace Supports
Bradley Manning, Connected Social Justice Causes
By Veronica Morris Moore and Victoria Crider, Truthout | name.Mr. President:
Honor Nelson Mandela's Wishes and Free Leonard Peltier
By Ruth Hopkins, Indian Country Today Media Network | Op-EdThe Other 1%:
Healing the Wounds of Native American Tragedies on Turtle Island
By Derek Royden, Occupy.com | Op-Ed
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