A U.S. parole commission has denied release for Leonard Peltier, a 79-year-old member of the American Indian Movement (AIM), convicted of murdering two FBI agents during a 1975 shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
Peltier, who has consistently maintained his innocence throughout his 47 years in prison, attended a parole hearing last month at the federal complex in Coleman, Florida. His next chance for parole is scheduled for June 2039, according to his attorney, Kevin Sharp.
In 1973, AIM led a historic standoff at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, to protest Indian rights issues. In 1974, AIM leaders Dennis Banks and Russell Means were tried in federal court, but charges were dismissed due to government misconduct.
In 1975, Special FBI Agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams were shot and killed while pursuing a robbery suspect on the reservation. The FBI identified Peltier as the gunman who killed the agents at close range. However, Peltier’s supporters argue that the prosecution only proved he was present, not that he fired the fatal shots.
“Our position is that you’ve got a conviction on a seriously flawed set of facts,” Sharp said in an interview. “You have a conviction tainted with investigation and prosecutorial misconduct, yet Leonard has spent over half of his life in prison. Any additional incarceration is just retribution. It serves no purpose toward justice. He has serious health conditions that the prison cannot adequately address.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray opposed Peltier’s parole, stating, “We must never forget that Peltier intentionally murdered these two young men and has never expressed remorse for his actions. Granting parole would diminish the brutality of his crime and further the suffering of the victims’ families and the FBI community.”