Leonard Peltier attacked: Appeal to Attorney General

Sample letter for US Attorney General for Eric Holder (or other person confirmed)
January 21, 2009

Eric H. Holder, Attorney General Designate
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
AskDOJ@usdoj.gov

Re: Leonard Peltier #89637-132

Dear Attorney General Holder:

I am writing today to provide you with a number of serious concerns stemming from the case of Mr. Leonard Peltier and explain how this case impacts all US citizens.

• Mr. Leonard Peltier, is an American Indian that has been imprisoned since 1976, convicted based on fabricated testimony, circumstantial evidence, extraordinary FBI influence and falsified test results. (Appellate Court findings)

• He was sentenced to two life sentences for “aiding and abetting” when two other persons tried for the same exact crimes were found not guilty because the jury said they were acting in self defense based on the climate of fear pervading the Pine Ridge Reservation at the time. Whom was he aiding and abetting?

• No federal employee was ever investigated or found responsible for the killing of Joe Stuntz, who was killed at the same Jumping Bull property in 1975. Further there are a number of American Indians that were killed under questionable circumstances on Indian reservations or at Wounded Knee in 1973, while no federal official have ever been charged with their deaths.

• Since 1976 repeated requests for files concerning Leonard Peltier, from the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the Freedom of Information Act have been unsuccessful. The typical response has been that the files were misplaced or lost, and sometimes after years of waiting the FBI responds with a vague “no”.

• Title 18 Section 4206 (d) states that “Any prisoner serving a sentence of five years or longer shall be released on parole after serving 2/3 of each consecutive term or after serving thirty years of each consecutive term including any life term”. Congress has stated and the Courts have ruled in other cases that Title 18 of the United States Code 4205(a) means that time served is equal to ten years in the case of a life sentence. The law says that a prisoner serving a life term shall be released on parole after serving thirty years if they were not released on parole after 20 years.
The most a prisoner would serve is 30 years. This has held true except in the case of Leonard Peltier who has been in prison for 33 years.

• In late 2008 the Turtle Mountain Reservation passed a resolution calling for Leonard Peltier’s release into their custody. Leonard Peltier is an enrolled member of Turtle Mountain. Tribal officials at Turtle Mountain were willing and able to meet almost any given conditions set forth by the Parole Board or the Bureau of Prisons, however they were not given the opportunity to even discuss this alternative, their status as a sovereign nation was totally ignored and Leonard Peltier transferred to Canaan, PA on January 12th, 2009.

• Beginning in October 2008, friends, family and supporters have repeatedly e-mailed, called, and written to the Bureau of Prisons asking for consideration in Leonard Peltier’s imminent transfer. While one recognizes that there are many factors for the BOP to consider, we only asked that he either be transferred to Turtle Mountain facility or closer to home. Instead Mr. Peltier was placed in a facility even further from his home and family making it unreasonably burdensome for them to visit him.

• Once Mr. Peltier arrived at the Canaan prison facility, he was jumped by younger inmates, severely beaten, put in solitary confinement and placed upon meal restrictions despite his having diabetes and other medical conditions. The family has requested copies of the video tapes of that incident to no avail. It is as if the whole scenario was contrived to detract from the fact that Mr. Peltier has been a model prisoner having more than enough points to qualify for parole.

• Retired, former and actively employed FBI agents have taken action against the release and parole of Leonard Peltier time and again. While it is their right to speak their opinion, it is not right to do so on federal time and at the taxpayer’s expense. Their letters, writings, articles, books, protests, outcries and interviews concerning Mr. Peltier, are a conflict of interest and tip the scales against him unfairly. In addition, it is certainly questionable as to the timing of a letter written by a former FBI Agent to Representative John Conyers and the beating Mr. Peltier received at Canaan.

It is apparent to me and many others that there are numerous violations of Mr. Peltier’s civil, constitutional, and human rights in the federal government’s quest to punish someone for the deaths of two FBI agents.

Justice has not been fair or blind to Mr. Leonard Peltier who has spent more than half of his life in prison. He is at 64 years old, in failing health and his life expectancy in prison is shortened greatly. And so I ask for your swift review of his case and release him so that he can spend the rest of his natural life with friends and family. The release of Leonard Peltier will go far in repairing the faith of the American people in the justice system and restore hope to many American Indians who otherwise have given up on the federal government’s promises. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Cc:

Mr. President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Complaints
Office of the Inspector General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Room 4706
Washington, D.C. 20530

Harry J. Lappin, Director
Federal Bureau of Prisons
320 First St., NW,
Washington, DC 20534

Kathleen M. Kenney
Assistant Director/General Counsel,
Federal Bureau of Prisons
320 First St., NW,
Washington, DC 20534

Morris L. Thigpen, Sr., Director
National Institute of Corrections
320 First St., NW,
Washington, DC 20534

All Possible Media Outlets – Television, Radio, Print
All Elected Federal Officials