An imprisoned Native American activist faces a “last chance” parole hearing after killing two FBI agents in 1975.
Leonard Peltier, now 79, faces a parole hearing Monday — his first in 15 years after spending more than 47 years behind bars.
He was arrested on February 6, 1976 by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after Special Constables Jack Coler and Ron Williams were shot while searching for a suspect on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota on June 26, 1975.
While the two officers were searching for Jimmy Eagle, a suspect who stole a pair of cowboy boots and attacked two local ranch hands, the pair called and said they were involved in a 10-minute shootout, the FBI said.
Officials said Coler and Williams were both shot at close range and that Peltier was identified as the only suspect in their deaths because he was in possession of a gun whose bullets matched those used in their killings.
Imprisoned Native American activist Leonard Peltier, now 79, is scheduled to appear Monday for a parole hearing — his first in 15 years after spending more than 47 years behind bars. (photo: Peltier handcuffed, led by officers)
He was arrested on February 6, 1976 by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after Special Constables Jack Coler (right) and Ron Williams (left) were shot while searching for a suspect on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota on June 26, 1975.
On Monday, Peltier is expected to attend what may be his final parole hearing at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Florida, as mounting speculation and support from others for him to be released has followed him.
“He wants to go home and realizes this is probably his last chance,” Peltier’s attorney Kevin Sharp said. NBC News.
“But he feels good about presenting the best case possible.”
Along with Peltier, other Native American activists involved in the incident, Robert Robideau, Darrelle “Dino” Butler and Frank Blackhorse, were arrested.
At trial, Robideau and Butler were acquitted after claiming self-defense, while Peltier and Blackhorse were extradited from Canada to the US.
Charges related to the shooting were dropped for Blackhorse, while Peltier was tried separately in Fargo, North Dakota, in 1977.
He was found guilty of killing the officers by a group of jurors and was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.
Numerous doubts have arisen following Peltier’s trial and conviction, as Sharp said the way the trial was investigated and conducted was not always fair.
Several witnesses in the first trial recanted their statements, while one witness, Myrtle Poo Bear, who claimed to be Peltier’s girlfriend at the time, placed him at the scene of the crime.
On Monday, Peltier is expected to attend what may be his final parole hearing at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Florida. (photo: Peltier see in his mugshot)
Since being imprisoned, Peltier has attracted the attention of well-known public figures who have called for his release, including his son Chauncey Peltier (pictured), the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Bishop Desmond Tutu and Pope Francis.
When the trial took place, the FBI deemed Poo Bear “unfit” to testify in court, citing mentally unstable health conditions.
At his final parole hearing in 2009, the FBI argued that the time he spent in prison did not diminish “the brutality of the crimes.”
An official also said that while Peltier has maintained his innocence, “he has resorted to lies and half-truths to distract public attention from the facts at hand.”
Since being imprisoned, Peltier has attracted the attention of well-known public figures and ordinary people who have called for his release, including his son Chauncey Peltier, the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Bishop Desmond Tutu and Pope Francis.
On Friday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said the agency remains “firm” in recommending his release.
Wray added that previous appeals were rejected and that Peltier escaped from a California prison in 1979 but was captured three days later.
“We must never forget or set aside the fact that Peltier deliberately murdered these two young men and never expressed remorse for his brutal actions,” Wray said.
Although the FBI has said Peltier was “lawfully and fairly obtained” and found guilty by “multiple courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court,” others are not so convinced he killed the agents.
James Reynolds, a retired federal prosecutor involved in Peltier’s appeals and post-trial, took it upon himself in 2021 to contact President Joe Biden to try to commute the activist’s sentence.
“He served over 46 years on minimal evidence, a result that I seriously doubt would be upheld in any court today,” Reynolds wrote in a letter to Biden.
During a 2022 telephone interview with NBC News, Peltier said he hoped pressure from Democrats in Congress would convince the president to reduce his sentence or release him.
“I have been able to fight in recent years,” Peltier said earlier.
“I’ve had to fight these last few years,” Peltier said earlier in a telephone interview from prison
His lawyer said Peltier’s good behavior in prison, his age and medical problems, including partial blindness caused by a stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure and multiple bouts of Covid, should make him a good candidate for parole.
Parole may be sought in Peltier’s case because it occurred before November 1987, when Congress abolished federal parole for prisoners who had committed criminal offenses as part of new sentencing guidelines.
At the parole hearing, the examiners are responsible for reviewing his case before making a decision and turning it over to the parole commissioner, who may agree or disagree with their decision.
If the commissioner agrees, Peltier will be released. If they disagree, a second commissioner steps in and agrees with the examiners or the commissioner.
Sharp said that during his client’s case, medical and reentry experts will be called to support Peltier’s parole. He added that letters from the community and public figures will also be given to the parole board.
His lawyer said Peltier’s good behavior in prison, his age and medical problems, including partial blindness caused by a stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure and multiple bouts of Covid, should make him a good candidate for parole.
Sharp added that the federal Bureau of Prisons is “not saying he’s a danger,” and that the case now turns to whether “they exacted enough retribution.”
One of Peltier’s supporters, Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., said, “Mr. Peltier deserves the dignity of living the rest of his life outside the confines of a federal prison cell. It is not too late to grant him the remaining years of a life that the federal government wrongfully stole from him so many years ago.”