Leonard Peltier, 79, a Native American activist in the American Indian Movement and citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians (ND), is now in his 49th year of incarceration. He is serving two life sentences for aiding and abetting in a maximum-security federal prison for his alleged role in the deaths of two FBI agents during a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota in 1975. Imprisoned at the age of 31, Leonard is now elderly, battling chronic health conditions and his unjust conviction is turning into a de facto death sentence.

Initially charged with the murders, Peltier’s co-defendants were found not guilty on grounds of self-defense. Prosecutors have since admitted they do not know who killed the agents and could not prove that Peltier committed a crime that day.

A former FBI agent familiar with his case has written to President Biden asking to release Peltier. A former federal prosecutor who oversaw Peltier’s post-trial sentencing and appeals also wrote to Biden asking for clemency, saying:

“I have realized that the prosecution and continued incarceration of Mr. Peltier was and is unjust. We were not able to prove that Mr. Peltier personally committed any offense on the Pine Ridge Reservation.”

For decades, Peltier’s wrongful imprisonment has been recognized as the product of a flawed prosecution, trial, and conviction by national and international human rights organizations such as the United Nations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch. They are joined by the National Congress of American Indians, American Civil Liberties Union, the Democratic National Committee, the National Caucus of Native American State Legislators, and a global list of human rights leaders (such as Nelson Mandela, Coretta Scott King, and the Dalai Lama.)

The prosecutorial misconduct and constitutional violations inflicted, have stolen years from Peltier’s life.

We must take action now to #FreeLeonardPeltier