Leonard Peltier PART 1 OF 2

moon

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An old case, though on-going.
This is the story of Leonard Peltier. An important
case, very important for those who believe in justice
within our court system.
Every American should know the facts of this case.

These are the facts......

[font=Arial,Helvetica,Monaco]We, the members and supporters of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, wish to express our grave concerns with regard to the denial of justice and due process to Mr. Leonard Peltier, and his ongoing detention at Leavenworth Penitentiary.[/font]

[font=Arial,Helvetica,Monaco]Mr. Peltier has been incarcerated for twenty-seven years, despite the clear indications of misconduct, including the falsification of evidence, by various U.S. officials which lead to his conviction, as set forth below. He is now nearly fifty-eight years of age and his health is beginning to deteriorate. We are therefore asking for your most urgent attention to this situation.[/font]

[font=Arial,Helvetica,Monaco]The facts of this case have long been the subject of intensive investigation and documentation. We wish to set forth the following summary for your convenience:[/font]

[font=Arial,Helvetica,Monaco](1) On February 27, 1973, members of the American Indian Movement, or AIM, together with a number of local and traditional Native Americans began their seventy-two day occupation of Wounded Knee. Their goal was to protest injustices against their tribes, violations of the many treaties, and current abuses and repression against their people. The United States government responded with a military style assault against the protesters. In the end, various officials promised hearings on local conditions and treaty violations. These hearings were never convened. The use of military force by the U.S. government was later ruled unlawful.[/font]

SEE LINK IN NEXT POST FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE (EDITED BY DP DUE TO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT):



[/center]
TO BE CONTINUED.....
 
[font=Arial,Helvetica,Monaco]FOIA Update[/font]

[font=Arial,Helvetica,Monaco]Withheld Documents[/font]


[font=Arial,Helvetica,Monaco]Recently, Mr. Peltier's attorneys filed a new round of Freedom of Information Act requests with FBI Headquarters and various FBI field offices in an attempt to secure the release of additional documents concerning Mr. Peltier. Although the FBI has engaged in a number of dilatory tactics in order to avoid the processing of these requests, 30,000 additional FOIA documents were released in June 2002. Previously, according to the FBI, more than 6,000 full documents remained undisclosed. The 30,000 documents released in 2002 reveal the FBI's prior estimate to be a significant undercount of actual documents still withheld. Currently, FOIA requests submitted to 30 FBI field offices around the country are pending. Similar FOIA requests have been submitted to the CIA. Nonresponsive agency letters following the recent requests have resulted in FOIA Complaints filed by Peltier's attorneys against the FBI, CIA and the Executive Office of United States Attorneys. For a more detailed update, see the report from Mr. Peltier's legal team.[/font]


[font=Arial,Helvetica,Monaco](16) At the Peltier trial the Prosecutor claimed in summation that...."we proved that he went down to the bodies and executed those two young men at point blank range...". At the appellate hearing, the government attorney conceded "We had a murder, we had numerous shooters, we do not know who specifically fired what killing shots...we do not know, quote unquote, who shot the agents."[/font]

[font=Arial,Helvetica,Monaco](17) At the murder trial the Prosecutor, referring to the murder weapon, stated that "There is only one AR-15 in the group. There is no testimony concerning any other AR-15 at Tent City or at the crime scene or anywhere else in the area ...." Mr. Peltier's lawyers later filed a habeas corpus petition, claiming that the government had mislead the jury by concealing evidence of other AR-15 rifles, and thus other potential murder weapons, at the crime scene. The same prosecuting attorney, before the Eighth Circuit Court in 1992, claimed that " ...I think its simply a misstatement of the trial that there was no evidence presented and it was suppressed as to other AR-15s at the scene ...."[/font]

[font=Arial,Helvetica,Monaco](18) Mr. Peltier has now served more than 27 years in prison. During this time he has suffered a stroke which left him partially blind in one eye. For many years he had a seriously debilitating jaw condition which left him unable to chew properly and caused consistent pain and headaches. The prison medical facilities could not properly treat this condition, and two prison surgeries have only worsened matters. A Mayo Clinic physician offered to repair the jaw for free, but was turned down again and again until the United Nations Raporteur sharply rebuked the United States for subjecting Mr. Peltier to inhuman conditions. Today, Mr. Peltier contninues to suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure and a heart condition. According to an affiliate of Physicians for Human Rights, he risks blindness, kidney failure and stroke in the future, given his inadequate diet, living conditions, and health care. [Update][/font]
(see link for entire article - edited by DP due to copyright infringement)


http://www.freepeltier.org/peltier_faq.htm
 
To: Leonard Peltier Supporters

From: Leonard Peltier Defense Committee

Subject: Court hearing on December 7, 2006

Location: 500 Pearl Street, 9th Floor, Ceremonial
Courtroom, Manhattan.



On December 7, 2006 at 10:00 a.m., Buffalo
attorney Michael Kuzma will be
arguing before a three judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for
the Second Circuit for the full release of all
documents maintained by the
Buffalo field office of the FBI relating to
Leonard Peltier and RESMURS. As
a result of this lawsuit, and a similar case
brought against the FBI in
Minnesota under the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA), we have learned that
the FBI actually possesses 142,579 pages of
material pertaining to Leonard
Peltier and RESMURS. Although these documents
are over 30 years old, the
Government continues to block release of this
information on the basis that
disclosure would, among other things, hamper the
"war on transnational
terrorism" and reveal the identities of
confidential sources.

Come out on December 7, 2006 to show your
solidarity and support in our
struggle to pry loose these secret FBI files and,
in the process, come one
step closer to liberating Leonard from federal
prison!

Thank you,

Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
 
For anyone who'd like more information about the Leonard Peltier case,
I highly, recommend the documentary, "Incident At Oglala." :behindbar

Moon
 
I have read extensively on Leonard and it is a crying shame. I have no answer.
 
Well guess I'm going against the grain here, but I believe this man to be guilty as sin. I've read up on the case quite a bit and believe he is right where he belongs.
 

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