Will Biden grant clemency to Leonard Peltier? Indigenous leaders plead: “Don’t let him die in prison”

AMY GOOD MAN: That is Democracy now!demokratienow.org, The war and peace report. I’m Amy Goodman.

President Biden’s term in office only has a few days left. He made history today by granting thousands of pardons, clemency petitions and pardons in his final weeks. The question is: Will he grant Leonard Peltier clemency? Over 120 tribal leaders are calling on Biden to grant clemency to indigenous leader Leonard Peltier as one of his final acts in office. In a letter to Biden, the tribal leaders write and quote: “Our place in the world as champions of freedom, justice and human rights cannot be maintained in a system that allows Leonard Peltier to die in prison.”

Leonard Peltier recently turned 80 years old. He spent most of his life, almost half a century, in prison. For decades, he and his supporters maintained Peltier’s innocence in the 1975 murder of two people FBI agents in a shooting on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and say his conviction was rife with irregularities and prosecutorial misconduct. The federal government has been repeatedly accused of failing to prove its case against Peltier.

Former U.S. Attorney James Reynolds, who served as a federal prosecutor for the District of South Dakota and was involved in Peltier’s prosecution, wrote to Biden in 2021 advocating for Peltier’s release. Here, Reynolds reads part of that letter in a recent video produced by Preston Randolph.

JAMES REYNOLDS: President Joe Biden, I write today from a rare position for a former prosecutor to ask you to commute the sentence of a man I put behind bars. The conviction and continued incarceration of Leonard Peltier is evidence of a time and a justice system that no longer has a place in our society. We have not been able to prove that Mr. Peltier personally committed a crime on the reservation. The conviction of Mr. Peltier, who has now been arrested, means that he is guilty of murder simply for being present on the reservation that day. He served his sentence for more than 46 years on minimal evidence, a finding that I highly doubt would be upheld by any court today. I believe that granting executive clemency would serve the best interests of justice and the best interests of our country.

AMY GOOD MAN: To find out more, we head to Rapid City, South Dakota, where Nick Tilsen, Founder and Founder, accompanies us CEO from NDN Collective. Tilsen is among more than 120 tribal leaders who sent a letter to Biden earlier this month continuing to advocate for the release of Peltier, who is currently imprisoned in Florida.

Nick Tilsen, we only have a few minutes. Have you met with the pardon board?

NICK TILSEN: We actually met with pardon attorney Liz Oyer. We met with the pardon attorney at Justice Department headquarters in December with tribal leaders from across the country and talked specifically about Leonard Peltier and what this would mean for Indian Country. And she was the one who actually wrote the recommendation, because there will be a recommendation that will be forwarded from the Justice Department to the president’s desk. And now that recommendation has been made and is sitting on the President’s desk right now. And he will make a decision today or tomorrow in the coming days whether to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier. And we don’t know – we don’t know exactly what the recommendation was, but when we left that meeting, all of the tribal leaders felt that it would bring justice to Leonard Peltier and we felt that this was a recommendation for his release would be. And then the decision rests with the president.

AMY GOOD MAN: What did the pardon attorney tell you?

NICK TILSEN: The pardon attorney told us that she knew the case inside and out, that she – that one of the main focuses of this particular meeting that we were in was that the section of the recommendation that she wanted to work on was about the significance of this for Indian Country, what this would mean for Indian Country if Leonard Peltier were released. And we’ve talked at length about the fact that the President of the United States has apologized for the residential schools and that it actually feels like America’s longest-incarcerated indigenous political prisoner in history is actually a residential school survivor, and that we It’s necessary that the President is taking action, and that this is also an issue that will help shine a light on many of the other good things that the Biden administration has done for the Indian people. And so they confirmed – they confirmed that there would actually be a written recommendation, and that would certainly be forwarded to the President of the United States, and he would make a decision before he leaves office.

AMY GOOD MAN: What is Leonard Peltier’s condition in Florida prison?

NICK TILSEN: Leonard is 80% blind in one eye. He has type 2 diabetes. He sits in a walker. He has an aortic aneurysm. His health is deteriorating. And this facility, quite frankly, is not even capable of meeting his medical needs. So it’s an absolutely dire situation. And we need to get Leonard home from this prison so he can see a doctor almost immediately upon his release.

AMY GOOD MAN: Can you tell me whether the first U.S. Cabinet member – Native American Cabinet member Deb Haaland, the former congressman from New Mexico – has spoken out?

NICK TILSEN: She addressed the president directly. When the boarding school apology was about to be announced on Air Force One from Washington, DC to Arizona, she spoke out. She was weighed several times. And at this time, the President of the United States must listen to this matriarch and Minister Deb Haaland and because this is a priority for Indian Country. And this is a perfect opportunity for the President of the United States to listen to the Honorable Secretary of State Haaland. And she commented on it. She has not spoken publicly, but she has spoken directly to the president as secretary of the Interior Ministry.

AMY GOOD MAN: I wanted to play a clip from – oh, over 10 years ago, when I was in prison talking to Leonard Peltier on the phone. It was President Obama who was in office.

AMY GOOD MAN: Leonard, this is Amy Goodman from Democracy now! I was –

LEONARD PELTIER: Oh, hello, Amy. How are you doing?

AMY GOOD MAN: Hello. I’m doing well. I was wondering if you have a message for President Obama?

LEONARD PELTIER: I just hope that he can, you know, stop the wars that are going on in this world and stop killing all these people that are being killed and, you know, give the Black Hills back to my people and release me.

AMY GOOD MAN: It was very interesting, Nick Tilsen, as we part from this interview – people can hear the whole interview at demmocracynow.org – that when I asked him to comment, he didn’t comment on his own case first. He talked about stopping the wars. In the last 30 seconds that we have, could you talk about what it would mean for Native Americans, for Indian Country, for this country as a whole if Leonard Peltier were granted clemency?

NICK TILSEN: You know, the United States government’s treatment of the Indian people has been a history of injustice throughout. And the reality is that the way Leonard Peltier was treated in his prosecution and incarceration is consistent with the way this country has treated the Indian people. And that’s why we all see a little bit of ourselves in Leonard Peltier, and that’s why we fight so hard for him. So this is about Leonard’s freedom, but this is about justice for the Indian people everywhere. This is about human rights for people everywhere. This is about forging a path forward that gives us the opportunity to achieve justice and begin healing the relationship between the United States government and the Indian people. Therefore, this decision is huge. And I really hope that the President of the United States weighs this decision. If he releases Leonard Peltier, he will forever be known as the president who did it. And American –

AMY GOOD MAN: Nick Tilsen, Native American activist, we’ll leave it at that, founder and CEO from NDN Collective. Thank you. That’s enough for our show. Democracy now! produced with Renée Feltz, Anjali Kamat, Mike Burke. I’m Amy Goodman.