Urgent—Support Leonard Peltier
Come to Leonard Peltier's parole hearing
Van leaving NYC Monday night, July 27th
American Indian Movement leader Leonard Peltier has spent over 33 years in jail
on frame-up charges. His parole hearing will be held in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Federal Prison next Tuesday.
New York organizers of the Jericho Movement have reserved a 15 passenger van to
go to Lewisburg on Monday, July 27th. It will leave at 8 p.m. from 33rd Street
and 8th Avenue in Manhattan. (In front of the Post Office across from
Pennsylvania Station. Take the A, C or E trains to the 34th Street
Station.)
People will stay overnight at the Days Inn a mile from the prison. Four or five
people can share a room.
Cost for the van is $25 per person. Cost per person for the shared room(s) is
$20. The van will be leaving Lewisburg at 2 p.m at the latest to be back in NYC
by about 6 p.m.
Anyone wanting to travel to Lewisburg for the July 28th vigil at Leonard's
parole hearing should email nyclpsg@gmail.com or nycjericho@gmail.com or call
718-365-4407.
There will also be a vigil for Leonard Peltier in NYC at Battery Park across
from the American Indian Museum. It will begin on Tuesday, July 28th at 6:30
a.m. with a sunrise drumming. People will walk to the Federal Building on the
Broadway side and hold a vigil from 7 to 9 a.m. Please call Alexis at
646-351-9859 or email him at lex@nadalex.net if can join the vigil.
Free Leonard Peltier! Free all political prisoners!
By Deirdre Griswold
Jul 23, 2009
Leonard Peltier, like Mumia Abu-Jamal, has become known around the world as
a symbol of U.S. government injustice toward the peoples it has abused and
betrayed over centuries.
Peltier has a full parole hearing coming up on July 28—the first one
since 1993. It is important that all those fighting racism and injustice let
the government know that they support Peltier’s release from prison.
Peltier was a leader of the American Indian Movement in 1976 when he was
arrested and charged with the deaths of two FBI agents during a shootout at the
Pine Ridge Reservation of the Oglala-Lakota Nation. He has now been imprisoned
for more than 33 years—one of the world’s longest-held political
prisoners—and his health is frail.
According to Amnesty International, the Parole Commission, after an interim
hearing that refused to reconsider its 1994 decision to deny Peltier parole,
acknowledged that ‘’the prosecution has conceded the lack of any
direct evidence that [Peltier] personally participated in the executions of the
two FBI agents. ...’’
However, the position of the Parole Commission has been that Peltier must
accept “criminal responsibility” for the killings in order to get
parole. It’s a “Catch 22” situation for Peltier, who has
always maintained his innocence.
Two other AIM members, Dino Butler and Robert Robideau, who admitted they
were present during the shootout, were tried and acquitted of the murders of
the FBI agents on the grounds of self-defense after they provided ample
testimony to the atmosphere of terror that existed on the reservation.
It was after their acquittals, said Amnesty in an appeal to President Bill
Clinton in 1999 for a pardon, that “the government intensified its
pursuit of Leonard Peltier.”
Peltier has continued to speak out in support of Native peoples’
rights. He has won international acclaim and support for his tireless activism
on behalf of human rights for Indigenous peoples. He is also an internationally
acclaimed writer and artist. In 2004, Peltier ran for U.S. president on the
Peace and Freedom Party ticket.
There are only a few days left to act. Letters supporting Peltier’s
parole effort should be addressed to the U.S. Parole Commission, 5550
Friendship Blvd., Suite 420, Chevy Chase, MD 20815-7286. Your letter must
reference Peltier’s prison number, 20815-7286.
Free Leonard Peltier!
