SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Before leaving office, President Joe Biden commuted the life sentence of Leonard Peltier.
He was convicted in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge reservation.
The commutation ends 50 years of prison life for the former member of the American Indian Movement. Peltier was denied parole as recently as July and wasn’t eligible for parole again until 2026. In 1987 he maintained his innocence.
“I’m not guilty of anything so, I’m going to continue fighting for my freedom until I’m released,” said Peltier
Judith LeBlanc, executive director of the Native Organizers Alliance said in a statement quote, “Our hearts are full for Leonard Peltier, his family, and all of Indian Country as he finally gets to go home after nearly 50 years behind bars.”
The FBI and its current and former agents dispute the claims of innocence. Agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams were shot and then executed as they lay wounded. Their cars were riddled with dozens of bullet holes. In a statement, Mike Clark, the President of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI says, “They were down, they were wounded, they were helpless and he shot them point blank. It is a heinous crime.”
Peltier was serving life in prison for the murders. According to the Biden White House, Peltier will transition to home confinement in North Dakota.
According to his son, Peltier’s tribe, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, has a home ready for him on the Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota. Peltier is 80 years old and has health problems.
In his 1999 memoir, Peltier admitted to firing shots in the ambush but said he did not kill the FBI agents, who were on the reservation serving an arrest warrant for robbery. President Biden’s Commutation does not absolve Peltier of his crime, it simply allows him to serve the remainder of his life sentence at home.
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