Schatz Urges Biden To Commute Native American Activist Leonard Peltier’s Sentence

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, urged President Joe Biden to commute the sentence of Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist convicted of murder in 1977 following a controversial investigation and trial, which many civil rights leaders and legal experts have called unjust, including the U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case. In his letter to the president, Schatz cites Peltier’s advanced age, illness, and a loophole in current laws that unfairly disqualifies Peltier from compassionate release. While legislation led by Schatz to fix the loophole continues to be considered in Congress, that process can take years – time Peltier may not have.

“I commend your administration’s commitment to righting past wrongs in our criminal justice system. In continuing that work as you consider recommendations for individuals to receive clemency, I write to urge you to grant a commutation of Leonard Peltier’s sentence. Mr. Peltier meets appropriate criteria for commutation: (1) his old age and critical illness, (2) the amount of time he has already served, and (3) the unavailability of other remedies. Given these factors, Mr. Peltier should be granted a commutation of his sentence,” Chairman Schatz wrote in his letter to President Biden. “Mr. Peltier has consistently maintained his innocence because the facts of his case, as well as the actions of federal agents and prosecutors involved, raise serious questions about whether he received a fair trial.”

The full text of the letter can be found below and is available here.

Dear President Biden:

I commend your administration’s commitment to righting past wrongs in our criminal justice system. In continuing that work as you consider recommendations for individuals to receive clemency, I write to urge you to grant a commutation of Leonard Peltier’s sentence. Mr. Peltier meets appropriate criteria for commutation: (1) his old age and critical illness, (2) the amount of time he has already served, and (3) the unavailability of other remedies.  Given these factors, Mr. Peltier should be granted a commutation of his sentence.

Mr. Peltier is 77 years old and suffers from severe health problems.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, Peltier’s age and health have made him particularly vulnerable in federal prison. As a result, he has been placed in prolonged social isolation due to COVID-19-related safety measures.  In addition, Mr. Peltier has served more than 44 years in the federal prison system.

In terms of other remedies, compassionate release is available to most other individuals who are at least 70 years old and have served at least 30 years of their sentence. However, Mr. Peltier is ineligible for compassionate release because he is an “old law” incarcerated person—having been convicted before November 1, 1987, when federal parole was abolished and the compassionate release process was established. While there are a number of congressional efforts to fix this eligibility gap, such as my Emergency GRACE Act, passage of legislation will take too long in Mr. Peltier’s case.

As an “old law” individual, another remedy is parole. However, the U.S. Parole Commission has denied parole multiple times because Mr. Peltier has not accepted criminal responsibility for the murder of two FBI agents who were serving an arrest warrant on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in 1977. Mr. Peltier has consistently maintained his innocence because the facts of his case, as well as the actions of federal agents and prosecutors involved, raise serious questions about whether he received a fair trial. In fact, last year, the U.S. Attorney handling his prosecution, James Reynolds, raised concerns about Mr. Peltier’s prosecution and his subsequent prison sentence in a July 2021 letter, writing that “the prosecution and continued incarceration of Mr. Peltier was and is unjust.”

I strongly support your administration’s work to pursue a fair and constitutionally sound justice system. In keeping with those principles, I urge you to commute Mr. Peltier’s sentence. Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

###