{"id":10432,"date":"2025-01-21T09:38:21","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T16:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=10432"},"modified":"2025-01-21T09:38:21","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T16:38:21","slug":"wyoming-man-who-worked-15-years-to-free-leonard-peltier-calls-commutation-bittersweet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2025\/01\/21\/wyoming-man-who-worked-15-years-to-free-leonard-peltier-calls-commutation-bittersweet\/","title":{"rendered":"Wyoming Man Who Worked 15 Years To Free Leonard Peltier Calls Commutation \u201cBittersweet\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You have to give credit when due, and this was actually something good on Biden’s part. An investigative reporter wrote a book which I read about this case, and it covered the history on the Pine Ridge Reservation with corrupt tribal police along with their federal agents (we drove through the reservation last summer<\/a>). But the stickler was that the federal judge didn’t allow Leonard Peltier to present his defense, which in state court got two other tribal members acquitted. This is similar to Ross Ulbricht who was denied putting on his case, and bringing in that a federal agent who stole Bitcoin was involved in the investigation, as Ulbricht claimed to be one of many Dread Pirate Roberts administrators. And we wait to see if Trump will commute Ross’s sentence as promised. It’s not that these men are angels, but our justice system is tarnished when corrupt judges in political cases prevent defendants from presenting their defense which most definitely would have changed the result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/cowboystatedaily.com\/2025\/01\/20\/wyoming-man-who-worked-15-years-to-free-leonard-peltier-calls-commutation-bittersweet\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
Joe Biden commuted the two consecutive life sentences of Leonard Peltier on Monday. Wyoming filmmaker Preston Randolph, who worked 15 years to free Peltier from prison, said he\u2019s “happy but bittersweet\u201d with the decision.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

By Andrew Rossi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leonard
Leonard Peltier, American Indian Movement leader, is led across Okalla prison exercise yard to a waiting helicopter. After a prolonged legal battle, Peltier was ordered deported by Canadian Justice Minister Ron Basford to face charges of murdering two FBI agents. (Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After spending nearly 50 years in federal prison, Leonard Peltier, 80, is going home. In the final moments in his term as the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden commuted the remainder of Peltier\u2019s two life sentences Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Free Leonard Peltier,” a documentary on his case and conviction, is premiering at the Sundance Film Festival<\/a> on Jan. 27. Peltier will not be at the premiere as he has not been exonerated for the murders of FBI agents Ronald Williams and Jack Coler on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota in 1975.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Cody, Wyoming, filmmaker Preston Randolph, Peltier leaving prison is the culmination of 15 years of professional work and personal investment in Peltier\u2019s case. He described it as \u201ca happy but bittersweet day,\u201d given the circumstances of the clemency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of people involved thought it might not happen,\u201d he told Cowboy State Daily. \u201cTime was ticking. There was 15 minutes until Trump\u2019s inauguration. But it did happen. It’s not everything we wanted, but Leonard gets to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indefinite House Arrest<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Peltier received an Executive Grant of Clemency that commutes his life sentences, which he\u2019s serving at a federal penitentiary in Florida. However, Randolph said Peltier is still a convicted murderer in the eyes of the federal government and will not be a free man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll be confined to his home indefinitely,\u201d he said. \u201cTo my knowledge, the Bureau of Prisons will transfer him from prison to his home in North Dakota. I don\u2019t know exactly when or how that will happen, as I\u2019ve heard multiple things, but there\u2019s a process to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means Peltier won\u2019t be able to attend the premiere of Randolph\u2019s film \u201cFree Leonard Peltier,\u201d the documentary directed by Jesse Short Bull and David France that was selected as one of the 87 films to be screened at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peltier was sentenced to two consecutive life terms for the deaths of Williams and Coler. There\u2019s been an earnest effort to have Peltier pardoned since his conviction, but multiple previous attempts were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Randolph praised Biden for \u201chaving the courage\u201d to take action on Peltier\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe started with Clinton, and Clinton wouldn’t touch it,\u201d he said. \u201cBush, Obama and Trump didn’t have the courage to do it. President Biden was the one to look at this request and had the courage to act.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could Happen To Anybody<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the news that Peltier is going home, there\u2019s disappointment that he wasn\u2019t pardoned for the murders. Randolph said that decision \u201cgives a complete pass to the FBI.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s basically clearing them of any wrongdoing on what was happening on the Pine Ridge reservation at that time,\u201d he said. \u201cThey set their agents up in a war zone, and two of them got killed in this turbulent situation. Then, they teamed with the federal government by denying Leonard’s constitutional rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peltier has never denied his involvement in the shootout that led to the deaths of Williams and Coler, but has denied firing the shots that killed them. Randolph claimed that there are thousands of documents proving that the FBI coerced witnesses, created false affidavits, people against their will until they would sign affidavits against Peltier, and forensic evidence collected from Peltier\u2019s rifle was withheld from his defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll this is proven and well documented,\u201d Randolph said. \u201cWe are thankful that Leonard is going home, but there is ongoing injustice in this case. It upholds a wrongful conviction where evidence was knowingly withheld from Leonard\u2019s defense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Activists
Activists participate in a protest to urge U.S. President Joe Biden to grant Native American activist Leonard Peltier clemency outside of the White House on Sept. 12, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Activists, who cite anti-Indigenous bias surrounding Peltier\u2019s trial, want the President to give leniency to Peltier who is serving two life sentences for the murder of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in 1975. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker, Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On The Grass, In The Sun<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFree Leonard Peltier\u201d explores the details of Peltier\u2019s trial and conviction, including all of the documentation that Randolph and many others feel should have exonerated him. Randolph is a co-producer of the documentary and has been Peltier’s close friend and advocate for 15 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t heard from him since he received the commutation,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been in constant communication with members of his legal team for the last several weeks, and the last few days have been very stressful. I know Leonard is very happy and is already planning what he wants to do when he gets home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Randolph believes the documentary has even more poignancy after the last-minute commutation of Peltier\u2019s sentence. He hopes that increased awareness of what happened will encourage more people to hold federal agencies accountable for injustices when they happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHis story is extremely important for people to know,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we allow our government to do these things and deny someone their constitutional rights to get a conviction, that\u2019s a problem, and we must look into those issues. If it can happen to Leonard, it can happen to anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peltier hasn\u2019t been pardoned, but soon he\u2019ll return to the Turtle Mountain reservation. He is of Lakota, Dakota and Anishinaabe descent,\u00a0but was raised among the Turtle Mountain Chippewa and Fort Totten Sioux Nations of North Dakota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019ll spend the rest of his days on house arrest surrounded by family, friends and advocates celebrating his release from prison. Randolph knows his friend has quite a transition ahead, but his spirit remains free and unbroken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe always said he wanted to lay down in the grass with the sun on his face,\u201d Randolph said. \u201cHe\u2019ll get to do that for the first time in five decades, and I know he’ll be enjoying a lot of the little things in life that so many of us take for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You have to give credit when due, and this was actually something good on Biden’s part. An investigative reporter wrote a book which I read about this case, and it covered the history on the Pine Ridge Reservation with corrupt tribal police along with their federal agents (we drove through the reservation last summer). But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10432"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10434,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10432\/revisions\/10434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}