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    NCAI Letter To Biden On Leonard Peltier

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    The President of the National Congress of American Indians writes a letter to President Biden urging him to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier, a 78-year old Native American man who has been imprisoned for 48 years which would make him the longest serving political prisoner in the US. The letter summarizes that Peltier's trial was plagued with due process violations and the former US Attorney who prosecuted the case now believes the conviction would not stand up today. It also states that Peltier's long incarceration has become a symbol of injustice against indigenous peoples in the US justice system and inspired generations of native activism. The letter urges President Biden to demonstrate a commitment to reconciling past mistreatment of native communities by commuting

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    NCAI Letter To Biden On Leonard Peltier

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    jen_bendery
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    The President of the National Congress of American Indians writes a letter to President Biden urging him to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier, a 78-year old Native American man who has been imprisoned for 48 years which would make him the longest serving political prisoner in the US. The letter summarizes that Peltier's trial was plagued with due process violations and the former US Attorney who prosecuted the case now believes the conviction would not stand up today. It also states that Peltier's long incarceration has become a symbol of injustice against indigenous peoples in the US justice system and inspired generations of native activism. The letter urges President Biden to demonstrate a commitment to reconciling past mistreatment of native communities by commuting

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    NCAI letter to Biden on Leonard Peltier

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    NCAI letter to Biden on Leonard Peltier

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    The President of the National Congress of American Indians writes a letter to President Biden urging him to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier, a 78-year old Native American man who has been imprisoned for 48 years which would make him the longest serving political prisoner in the US. The letter summarizes that Peltier's trial was plagued with due process violations and the former US Attorney who prosecuted the case now believes the conviction would not stand up today. It also states that Peltier's long incarceration has become a symbol of injustice against indigenous peoples in the US justice system and inspired generations of native activism. The letter urges President Biden to demonstrate a commitment to reconciling past mistreatment of native communities by commuting

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    613 views2 pages

    NCAI Letter To Biden On Leonard Peltier

    Uploaded by

    jen_bendery
    The President of the National Congress of American Indians writes a letter to President Biden urging him to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier, a 78-year old Native American man who has been imprisoned for 48 years which would make him the longest serving political prisoner in the US. The letter summarizes that Peltier's trial was plagued with due process violations and the former US Attorney who prosecuted the case now believes the conviction would not stand up today. It also states that Peltier's long incarceration has become a symbol of injustice against indigenous peoples in the US justice system and inspired generations of native activism. The letter urges President Biden to demonstrate a commitment to reconciling past mistreatment of native communities by commuting

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 2

    NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICAN INDIANS

    July 27, 2023

    President Joseph R. Biden


    The White House
    1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
    Washington, D.C. 20500

    Dear President Biden:

    I write to you today regarding the nearly five-decade incarceration of Leonard


    Peltier. As President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the
    oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native
    organization in the United States, I urge you to grant clemency to Mr. Peltier or
    support his petition for compassionate release at the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

    Mr. Peltier, 78, is an enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa
    Indians who is in his 48th year of imprisonment – making him the longest-serving
    political prisoner in the United States. His trial was plagued with several
    egregious and well-documented instances of due process violations. In a powerful
    letter to you in 2021, former U.S. Attorney James Reynolds, whose office handled
    the prosecution and appeal of Mr. Peltier’s case, wrote that the government’s case
    “likely would not be upheld by courts today,” and that “a grant of executive
    clemency would serve the best interest of justice and the best interests of our
    country”.

    For Indian Country, Mr. Peltier’s incarceration remains a deeply painful symbol of
    the inequities of the U.S. justice system, particularly in its treatment of Indigenous
    Peoples. Indigenous Americans have long been victims of systemic racism,
    particularly at the hands of law enforcement and the U.S. criminal justice system.
    His prolonged incarceration has inspired three generations of Native American
    activists and grassroots movements across the globe aiming to correct unfair and
    discriminatory policies towards Indigenous communities.

    NCAI’s support for Mr. Peltier’s clemency has been long-standing and
    unwavering. I have included our most recent resolution on the matter, but NCAI
    also has standing resolutions on this matter from 1999 and 2011, and former
    NCAI President Brian Cladoosby wrote to President Obama in 2015 seeking
    clemency for Mr. Peltier.

    President Biden, you have previously committed to strengthening the U.S.


    government’s relationship with Native communities. Now is the time to
    demonstrate to Indian Country that you recognize this injustice and violation of
    human rights and continue your efforts in support of the long needed
    reconciliation between the United States and Indigenous peoples that have been
    fraught with centuries of mistreatment and injustice.
    NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICAN INDIANS

    NCAI is, once again, joining the long list of Indigenous Peoples, humanitarian
    organizations, and respected leaders, nationally and internationally, who have
    raised their voices in a call for the release of Leonard Peltier.

    Enough is enough, Mr. President—after nearly five decades of imprisonment, this


    is now a matter of not only justice but mercy as well. We urge you to
    immediately commute the sentence for Leonard Peltier or support his petition for
    compassionate release.

    Sincerely,

    Fawn Sharp
    President, National Congress of American Indians

    Enclosure: NCAI Resolution ECWS-22-010

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