Leonard Peltier is having his first full parole hearing in 15 years. Anyone who has worked hard to set him free, I just wanted to thank you and send our hopes and prayers his way. The prison system in the United States is a bloated beast being fed on racist ideology and scare tactics. Perhaps if we actually get health care for everyone, it will begin a path to actually caring about the people in our country and maybe STOP this cycle of revenge we base our "justice" on. Imprisoning people with NO evidence seems to be more and more commonplace these days.
The following is a synopsis from Democracy Now, which will be carrying the news since nobody else seems to want to:
The sixty-four-year-old activist has been in prison for thirty-three years and is now being held at the Lewisburg prison in Pennsylvania. Peltier was convicted of killing two FBI agents during a shootout on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1975. At his last hearing, the Parole Commission originally denied Peltier parole in 1993 based on their finding that he “participated in the premeditated and cold blooded execution of those two officers.” However, the Parole Commission has since said it “recognizes that the prosecution has conceded the lack of any direct evidence that [Peltier] personally participated in the executions of the two FBI agents.” Peltier has long maintained his innocence and is widely considered a political prisoner who was not granted a fair trial.
Since this case is so politically charged, it actually does help to email and raise awareness and I urge you to please do so. We will know the outcome in about three weeks.
"Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom."
The following is a synopsis from Democracy Now, which will be carrying the news since nobody else seems to want to:
The sixty-four-year-old activist has been in prison for thirty-three years and is now being held at the Lewisburg prison in Pennsylvania. Peltier was convicted of killing two FBI agents during a shootout on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1975. At his last hearing, the Parole Commission originally denied Peltier parole in 1993 based on their finding that he “participated in the premeditated and cold blooded execution of those two officers.” However, the Parole Commission has since said it “recognizes that the prosecution has conceded the lack of any direct evidence that [Peltier] personally participated in the executions of the two FBI agents.” Peltier has long maintained his innocence and is widely considered a political prisoner who was not granted a fair trial.
Since this case is so politically charged, it actually does help to email and raise awareness and I urge you to please do so. We will know the outcome in about three weeks.
"Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom."
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1 comment:
It's too late to actually make a difference in this parole hearing, but here are the places to write (thank you cards or continued support and to find out what you can do!)
Amnesty International
International Secretariat
1 Easton Street
London WC1X 0DW
UK
*You also may send correspondence to the national Amnesty International office in your home country.
Amnesty International-USA
5 Penn Plaza – 14th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Human Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue
34th Floor
New York, NY 10118-3299
High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations
CH-1211
Geneva 10
Switzerland
Working Group on Indigenous Populations
United Nations
CH-1211
Geneva 10
Switzerland
Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples
United Nations
CH-1211
Geneva 10
Switzerland
Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations
CH-1211
Geneva 10
Switzerland
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