Leonard Peltier again denied parole after 24 years

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In a surprisingly swift decision, the United States parole examiner has crushed the latest hope for freedom for Leonard Peltier, recommending that Peltier's sentence be continued until his next full parole hearing in 2008.

The recommendation came during an interim parole hearing held for Peltier June 12 at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas.

Peltier, a activist with the American Indian Movement, is serving two consecutive life terms following his 1977 conviction for the murder of two FBI agents killed on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota on June 26, 1975. The two agents were wounded during a gunfight between the FBI and Indian activists.

Peltier has been in prison in the United States since 1977, when he was convicted of two counts of first degree murder, and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. Peltier was arrested in Hinton, Alta. in February 1976 and extradited to the U.S., under suspicious circumstances, in June 1976 to face the murder charges. Many human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, have been calling for Peltier's release, suggesting evidence that would have been favorable to his release had been suppressed. Also joining in on the call for Peltier's release have been the Assembly of First Nations, the National Congress of American Indians, and the National Council of Churches. The Canadian Labour Congress has also joined the fight, and has launched a campaign among its membership, urging clemency for Peltier.

Peltier last had a parole hearing in 1994, but the parole commission must hold an interim parole hearing every two years to re-examine the case to see if there are reasons to change their original ruling to deny parole.

According to information provided by the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, the parole examiner made the decision to continue Peltier's sentence without examining any of the evidence presented at the hearing, including a doctor's report citing problems with Peltier's health, 10,000 letters in support of Peltier's release, and eight parole plans offering Peltier housing and employment on his release from prison.

Anne Dreaver is national co-ordinator with the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee of Canada.

"People are absolutely outraged," Dreaver said of the latest decision not to grant parole to Peltier. "They saw the parole commissioner writing his decision to deny parole before the evidence was even read or considered, and that is a denial of a fair hearing. It also constitutes a due process violation of Leonard Peltier's rights," Dreaver said.

Dreaver explained the American justice system is continuing to keep Peltier behind bars, despite the fact that prosecutors have admitted in court they have no real evidence linking Peltier to the killings of the two agents.

In the time since his incarceration, the validity of much of the evidence used against Peltier has been called into question, with concerns raised about the credibility of a witness whose testimony was used to secure Peltier's extradition, and inconsistencies uncovered in ballistics evidence used against Peltier during his trial.

"It's a continuous rubber stamping of denial, rubber stamping an existing position that they just don't want him out, despite all the growing evidence, including the government testimony in court, several times, that they just don't have any evidence linking him to those murders, to those killings," Dreaver said.

Now that the interim parole hearing has failed to lead to Peltier's release, Dreaver said efforts by his supporters in both Canada and the U.S. will not focus their efforts on attempts to convince U.S. president Bill Clinton to grant clemency for Peltier. The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee of Canada will also be working to set up an independent inquiry into the Peltier case in Canada, which organizers hope to hold in Toronto in October.

"People feel affronted by the fact that Leonard's rightsare totally denied to him," Dreaver said. "They want answers. They want the truth to come out, and they want the Canadian government to be accountable for that truth."