DU: Leonard Peltier needs YOU

[BeHereNow]

Peltier has just been shuffled off to a solitary confinement
cell in Terre Haute, IN.
No notice was given to his family or attorney.
No reason for his solitary confinement.
Just poof- he's been disappeared.
Please write the Terre Haute prison- demand that
he be restored his "good-behavior" rights and
removed from solitary confinement. BHN
http://lpdcinc.blogspot.com/2005/08/update-from-leonard-peltier.html

PS: I broke my arm, and it is really hard to type
with one hand, but I thought this was EXTREMELY
important to post. Please keep it kicked.
I don't want LP to fall victim to the new Patriot Act laws.
They need to know people are watching and
aware of the situation- PLEASE write to them on
his behalf.

[Broken_Hero]

1. He is just about forgotten...

I'm amazed someone on this site knows LP. I"m shocked. He is going to be stuck in prison for a long time, there is no way the powers in charge will ever admit they were wrong, or made a mistake. I feel sorry for LP, but again...what can you do? Bust him out? Go ahead, if you want to....

[BeHereNow]

4. Lots of DUers know about Leonard-

He doesn't come up often enough in my mind,
but when he does, the trolls have a tendency
to out themselves in record numbers...
Just watch, shouldn't be long now...
BHN

[bluedonkey]

21. That's what you think!

Leonard will never be forgotten!
Just because we don't talk about him everyday doesn't mean we don't pray for his life everyday!

[EFerrari]

25. That's right. We need two more votes here. n/t

[walldude]

58. I think you underestimate DU'ers...

You're shocked that a liberal activist board with 70,000 members has people who know who LP is? He's not forgotten and won't be until he is released.

[Richard Steele]

2. KICK THIS! And anyone who doesn't know who he is...

...PLEASE take the time to find out.

He's one of our nation's longest-held political prisoners.

Thanks for the heads-up, BeHereNow!

[dbeach]

3. i wrote gore

about LP yrs ago..what a rip off

i remember when the Indians shot it out with the FBI in 73 in a stunning replay of the wounded knee trauma

it was headlines at umass daily collegian..

ever hear of the legend of the sleeping ute?when the mt stands up and walks in cortez colorado....all the evil doers will be destroyed..don't mess with their legends

[latebloomer]

5. kick

[carnie_sf]

6. Kick

[applegrove]

7. I saw a documentary on him and I do not have enough info to say

he is innocent. Perhaps there is a better documentary?

[BeHereNow]

9. Last time I looked-

people were incarcerated for proof of guilt
in this country- guilt has never been proven.
Documents which prove his innocence have been
withheld though, by the FBI.
If you check out the link, you can navigate to
the latest legal updates from his attorney on it.
Also, the point of the post is to
act to have him released from solitary confinement
and restore his prisoner rights.
BHN

[applegrove]

10. I can only take on so many issues. Right now it is politics. I'll have

to leave the research to you.

[BeHereNow]

12. uh...this is politics

LP is one of the oldet political prisoners in our system.
His treatment at the moment is directly
related to the Patriot Act.

BHN

[EFerrari]

11. Last time I looked, he was innocent as hell

Leonard is a political prisoner and his life is being stolen to save face for the FBI.

[applegrove]

13. Sounds way too sad for me.

[BeHereNow]

16. Well, I hope you are never in his shoes

and someone is "too sad" to research or
act on your behalf.
I know it must be very difficult to write a
letter demanding his release from unjustified
solitary confinement and transfer without notification
to his family or attorney.
Too much effort when you are so sad, eh?
BHN

[applegrove]

51. I think it is okay if I pace myself - yes? I get heavily involved in lots

of issues. I did Darfur leading up to the peace conference. I may pick that one up again - if it doesn't improve.

I think we can allow each of us to make up our own minds of where we invest in this fight. We are not machines. I for one cannot invest in something unless I know all about it. I stay up on economic issues - so that I can fight there. I'll just have to sit this one out. Sorry - I shouldn't have said anything.

[bluedonkey]

22. It's too sad for you?

Too sad to help someone?
What is wrong with you?

[BeHereNow]

26. Uh..what's wrong with

the MAJORITY of people in this country
today is the REAL question...
What we do to one, we do to all-
problem is, nobody remembers that we are all ONE.
Personal neurosis over collective good
has become the norm, which is exactly why
the corporate beast will devour us all.
BHN

[AuntiBush]

61. Really!

Really... unreal. Kicked & Not Forgotten!

[BeHereNow]

62. Applegrove has expressed

issue fatigue- I understand the feeling, but
have not given up on being a voice for the voiceless.
Like Leonard says,
If HE can continue to speak out in his circumstance,
how can we, who are NOT in prison, not do so.
BHN

[AuntiBush]

63. What's that saying...

If not me, who? If not now, when? And... (?)

First they came for .... and I said nothing.
And it finalizes with the line, "then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak-out for me," or something like that.

Anyone know that prose. Some need to be reminded of that, sorely!

Good post! Kicked Bigtime!

[BeHereNow]

14. Some folks would rather not be bothered with THESE politics

After all, what does LP's case have to do with
the Patriot Act and treatment of prisoners (gitmo)
anyway- and hey, while we are at it, let's just forget
all about Jose Padilla...:shrug:

[EFerrari]

19. The more things change.

I'll write. Thanks for posting.

:kick:

[BeHereNow]

24. Thanks Sfexpat2000

I know you "get it."
Be sure to read the mesaage from LP
on the Iraq war- it is a powerful message
to everyone and a reminder not to accept
what is being done in our names.

BHN

[Waya]

67. I don't know.....

...which documentary you have seen. 'Incident at Oglala'seems to be one of the better ones since it features interviews with people who were actually there, like Bob Robideau and Dino Butler, among others.
Also, the book by Peter Mathiessen 'In The Spirit of Crazy Horse' gives great attention to the details of the events and the consequent investigation. Of course, 'Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sundance' by Leonard himself and Harvey Arden gives insight to not only what happened that day, but also the atmosphere the people on the Pine Ridge Rez were subjected to and the fear they lived in before that day.

Leonard will never be forgotten. He is the symbol of the Injustices perpetrated on the Native American People - past and present.

[CC]

8. kick

[Generic Other]

15. Didn't the FBI go nuts because Clinton considered a pardon?

I recall a protest march organized by FBI agents.

Seems like LP is Public Enemy #1 at FBI headquarters.

[BeHereNow]

17. Yes, he is a great threat to them-

a political embarassment to certain corporate
interests as well.
BHN

[H2O Man]

45. Many of the rank & file

consider Leonard to be responsible for the deaths of two FBI agents. For that reason, perhaps more than any other, a huge number of agents and family members did protest when Clinton considered granting a pardon. In my opinion, Clinton's failure to address their concerns was as cowardly as his failure to pardon Leonard.

The truth is that the evidence available shows that Leonard did not shoot the two FBI agents. There are no documentaries that indicate he did, that I am aware of, although someone earlier on this thread pretended otherwise. The book "In the Spirit of Crazy Horse," a 60 Minutes segment where the actual killers were interviewed, and an examination of the case's history show that he is innocent. Although at the time some people were indeed convinced Leonard was the killer, and manufactured evidence to support this (and suppressed evidence that indicated he was not the one of the gunmen), the truth is that the identity of the acual gunmen is now known.

I don't think Leonard poses any threat to anyone, least of all the FBI. The truth about why the two FBI agents were on the territory would be a difficult thing for the federal government to have explained at the time. Maybe it still would be. The FBI was used (though willingly in too many cases) to promote instability in the traditional Lakota society, allowing the mining corporations to access the mineral wealth on Indian lands. Events there, much like at the Wounded Knee crisis, were actually more military than FBI. I think that forces higher up than the FBI are the ones that want to keep that ugly chapter a secret.

Leonard is getting up there in age, and his health isn't good. He should not be suffering more abuse in prison.

[BeHereNow]

46. I think corporate use of the FBI is the issue

as far as Leonard being a threat to them.
I think they want to keep him silent about Pine Ridge
and what was going on there, that's what I
meant about him being a threat.
As long as he remains in prison, and the average person
reasons, well, he MUST have done SOMETHING to be in prison,
then they can discredit anything he might have to say-
also, he has such a large following, they do not
want him free to lead people in our society.

That Clinton failed to pardon him, but not actual
corporate criminal, is a disgrace to the judicial system
and the country.

I grew up in Terre Haute and the thought of Leonard
in solitary confinement in THAT prison makes me
want to cry. At the very least, they should remove him
from solitary confinement.

BHN

[H2O Man]

59. Prisons

require inmate populations that are merry fools; the institution cannot tolerate a sad wise man. I've quoted before from a study done by a professor from Princeton, I believe from the 1950s, about using solitary confinement to strip "authority" from men who might serve as role models of dignity for inmates.

Solitary confinement does terrible things, even to strong men. There is a scene in the movie The Hurricane, about Rubin Carter's experience with prolonged solitary confinement. It's real.

Rubin visit Leonard in the past. I remember years ago, when Onondaga Chiefs Lyons and Waterman helped get Leonard moved when he was put in a potentially dangerous place. People may not appreciate how important it is to keep public pressure on the prison administration.

[BeHereNow]

20. Maxine Waters on LP to Clinton asking pardon

"Statement of Congresswoman Maxine Waters Urging President Clinton to Grant Executive Clemency to Leonard Peltier
 
MAXINE WATERS
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
35th DISTRICT, CALIFORNIA

CHIEF DEPUTY WHIP

December 31, 2000

STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN MAXINE WATERS URGING PRESIDENT CLINTON TO GRANT
EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY TO LEONARD PELTIER

I join the many voices today calling on President Clinton to grant Executive Clemency to Leonard Peltier. Mr. Peltier, like Mumia Abu Jamal and Assata Shakur, is a victim of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) infamous Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO). During the 1960s and 1970s this program launched illegal and clandestine attacks on a wide variety of politically active groups and civil groups and civil rights leaders.

I have written to the President in the past regarding Leonard Peltier's case and requested he grant Executive Clemency. The history of Mr. Peltier's trial and conviction is a shameful stain on the U.S. Judicial System. Leonard Peltier was denied some of the basic civil rights we cherish. The government illegally extradited him from Canada using knowingly falsified affidavits. He was convicted of murdering FBI Agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams with fabricated evidence, falsified testimony, a judge who has been described as racist by several people and documentation that important evidence was denied during this trial.

My heart goes out to the families of Agents Coler and Williams, as well as the families of the many Native Americans murdered during the same time period on the Pine Ridge Reservation. However, Leonard Peltier has spent over two decades of his life imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. He was made the target of the FBI's search for a killer they could not find. During one of Leonard's appeals, the government's own prosecutor admitted they did not know who actually killed the agents.

We cannot allow these injustices to remain unexamined or uncorrected. Those who maintain Mr. Peltier's guilt have used the same lies and deceit in continued attempts to deny Leonard his freedom. They must not be allowed to continue to disgrace this country and what it stands for, liberty and justice for all.

I support the movement to free Leonard Peltier, not as an affront to law enforcement who put their lives on the line everyday, but as an American who believes in justice. For the sake of the country and in the name of truth and justice, Leonard Peltier must be set free immediately."

[BeHereNow]

18. Mesage from LP- for Applegrove

Applegrove and others who may not be familiar with
WHO LP is, and why he continues to be a threat-
could part of his annoyance to 'the powers that be'
because of his vocal opposition to the Iraq debacle and his
warning that this administration is slowly breaking the
"Treaty" (Constitution) with it's own people the very way
it broke all the "Treaties" with the Indian Nations?
Peace-BHN

Leonard Peltier
PO Box 583
Lawrence, KS 66044
www.leonardpeltier.org
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hau Kola, Hello my friends, my relatives:

You can never imagine the heartfelt comfort it brings to know you're not forgotten in prison. This is my 28th year, and I've seen others come and go and return again. I can't help but feel a great sorrow for many of these young men who keep coming back for one reason or another; most of which are alcohol related offenses. So much has changed since I came here and yet, in many ways, it's still the same.

The government, under the pretext of security and progress, liberated us from our land, resources, culture, dignity and future. They violated every treaty they ever made with us. I use the word "liberated" loosely and sarcastically, in the same vein that I view their use of the words "collateral damage" when they kill innocent men, women, and children.

They describe people defending their homeland as terrorists, savages and hostiles, and accuse us of being aggressors. We have never fought a battle or war that was not on our own land; we never fired the first shot ... ever.

My words reach out to the non-Indian: Look now before it's far too late - see what is being done to others in your name and see what destruction you sanction when you say nothing. Your own treaty, the one between yourselves and the government, is being violated daily; this treaty is commonly known as the Constitution.

With us, they started a little at a time, encroaching on our rights until we had none at all. It will be the same for the Constitution; this is not conjecture, but fact. We are not embattled with the color of man, but with the weakness of man, a mindset that lusts for power and wealth at the expense of life.

Men of all colors, cultures and religions must stand together to oppose the genocidal policies that face us all as the corporate world seeks to enslave all, and pit one nation against another.

If you avoid breaking laws and do what you're told and ignore the poor, the oppressed and the downtrodden - you probably won't be bothered. If you try to right what is wrong, however, you will surely meet great opposition and run the risk of imprisonment or death.

I am a Sun Dancer. I took a vow for my people. I chose to seek the Creator's will and to follow it to the best of my ability. I WILL NOT STAND DOWN FROM THAT VOW. I will continue to speak, write and organize until Grandfather himself quiets my life. If I can do this in prison, I have no doubt you can do much better from where you stand.

I encourage you to do your best, be kind to one another, seek harmony and balance with all natural life, enjoy what freedom you have left, and most of all, never, never give up.

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,
Leonard Peltier
Mitakuye Oyasin

[NVMojo]

23. shame on the feds

KICK! KICK! KICK!!

[bluedonkey]

27. I'll write some letters

it's the least I can do.
I wish someone with more power would do something.The one thing I will never forgive Clinton!

Wish you a speedy recovery.

[BeHereNow]

28. Thanks- contact Maxine Waters too-

She asked Clinton to pardon him, but
he was busy pardoning guilt proven
corporate buddies.
BHN

[BeHereNow]

30. good link- Clinton Corporate Pardons-

http://www.igs.berkeley.edu/library/pardon.html#Clinton
I can't help but notice his open friendship
with the Bush family these days...
BHN

[Richard Steele]

34. Damn right he was...One reason I never believed the Clinton hype.

Leonard's case was total BS
every step of the way...

Evidence: PROVEN to be MANUFACTURED
Affadavits: ADMITTED to be bogus

The PROSECUTION ADMITTED that it didn't know who committed the crime he is imprisoned for...

LEONARD is important because his blatantly ILLEGAL incarceration
paved the road that leads to GITMO and Abu Ghraib.

"They" broke EVERY relevant law when they took his life away,
and when "they" got away with it,
they were emboldened to go further, to begin
writing LAWS to permit that which is NOT LEGAL.

If the American PEOPLE had ever heard the unvarnished TRUTH
about Leonard Peltier,
the "War on Drugs" would have died in infancy,
and the "Patriot Acts" would never have happened at all.

[BeHereNow]

35. Amen Brother-

Leonard and others were the lab rats
in the nightmare we face now.
There was a HUGE movement for Clinton
to pardon him, NO response.
Now we have a government holding
God knows HOW many Peltiers GLOBALLY!
And people can't see the connection???
WTF!
BHN

[pitohui]

47. wrote some weeks ago to bureau of prisons

nothing back, not even an acknowledgement they got letter

last i heard it was unknown whether peltier could receive his medicines in solitary, ah, just see the new letter from peltier that he is now getting his medicines, this is a relief

very important all letters and emails sent be courteous

[me b zola]

29. If we remain quiet...

Leonard will have many of us to keep him company in a federal facility.

Our destinies are linked.

[BeHereNow]

31. THANK YOU!!! n/t

BHN

[Swamp Rat]

32. And America needs Leonard Peltier to be set free.

Otherwise we'll all end up just like him, eventually.

BeHereNow, please take care of your arm. I hope you get better soon! :hug:



PS. kicked and nominated!!!

[BeHereNow]

33. His Message to all:

Thanks SwampRat- I appreciate your kind healing thoughts-
And I LOVE the one you did with "Lord Pissy PANTS"
toting the chainsaw!!! You're so good at those. Classic,
each and everyone of them.
And you are right- we NEED Leonard's voice
more than ever!
BHN

Excerpt from his 2004 annual message:
"My words reach out to the non-Indian: Look now before it's far too late - see what is being done to others in your name and see what destruction you sanction when you say nothing. Your own treaty, the one between yourselves and the government, is being violated daily; this treaty is commonly known as the Constitution.

With us, they started a little at a time, encroaching on our rights until we had none at all. It will be the same for the Constitution; this is not conjecture, but fact. We are not embattled with the color of man, but with the weakness of man, a mindset that lusts for power and wealth at the expense of life.

Men of all colors, cultures and religions must stand together to oppose the genocidal policies that face us all as the corporate world seeks to enslave all, and pit one nation against another.

If you avoid breaking laws and do what you're told and ignore the poor, the oppressed and the downtrodden - you probably won't be bothered. If you try to right what is wrong, however, you will surely meet great opposition and run the risk of imprisonment or death."
http://www.freepeltier.org/012304_annual_message.htm

[hlthe2b]

36. 'Been trying to think who would consider a Pres. Pardon for LP

Much as I hate to admit it, the only one I can imagine considering it would be John McCain. I'm no McCain fan, mind you, but I'd dearly love to see Leonard Peltier freed. Stay strong, my friend. My country long ago betrayed you. Now it has betrayed all of us.

Makes me feel so very helpless....

[anarchy1999]

37. thanks bhn. this has been on going for a couple of weeks now. Thanks

for posting.

Now I need to try and find my camera, I think I lost it tonight at the VFP Convention. Damn. I had so many good pics to share with you all.

[EFerrari]

38. Kick

[merh]

39. His plight is so sad - but he is not alone.

This type of transfer without notification is common in the federal system, they don't need to notify anyone and the only permission they need is their own.

So too, the solitary confinement, the rec cage, the slow process of classification.

Prisons are our nation's human land fills. What do the politicans care about prisoners, they can't vote.

And Leonard is not the only political prisoner or prison doing time based upon false convictions and no evidence.

An injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere.

:cry:

[wli]

40. is there a list of political prisoners?

Thanks.

[G_j]

41. Done

thanks BHN!

btw, helps to call Congresscritters also!

[BeHereNow]

43. kicking for Leonard

BHN

[JohnyCanuck]

42. Canadian columnist Peter Worthington says Peltier was railroaded

Peltier was extradited from Canada to stand trial in the US in 1976 and his cause has been taken up in Canada by an unlikely source. Peltier's cause has been championed in Canada by a Toronto Sun commentator, Peter Worthington. Worthington is a typical Canadian right winger and supporter of the Bush regime. He is also the father-in-law of that horse's ass and fired Chimperial speech writer David Frum. For someone like Worthington to take the USA and the Canadian government to task for its treatment of Peltier does lend some weight to the idea that the evidence presented in the Peltier extradition hearings and trial was not on the up and up.

Leonard Peltier:The imprisoned Nelson Mandela of North America.

By Peter Worthington
The Toronto Sun
Sunday, May 30, 1999

<snip>

Peltier was puzzled and upset that Canada's Justice Minister Anne McLellan had recently responded to Reform Party questions that at his extradition hearings in 1976 no one had lied and "there is no evidence of any fraud in the extradition process."

In fact, fraud illuminates the extradition. A sworn affidavit by one Myrtle Poor Bear that she was Peltier's girlfriend and had witnessed him kill the wounded FBI agents was (according to Paul Halprin, the Canadian lawyer representing the U.S. government at the extradition hearings) key in getting him extradited.

It subsequently turned out that Poor Bear was mentally incompetent, had never met Peltier, wasn't on the Pine Ridge reserve that day. Her affidavit was dictated and concocted by the FBI. She had done three affidavits -- the first saying she didn't witness anything. Her other two were a combination of perjury, concocting evidence, fabrication and criminal impropriety.

FALSE AFFIDAVIT
As well as getting Peltier extradited, the fraudulent affidavit was also a contemptuous violation of the extradition treaty and deliberate ploy to corrupt the justice system. This is not an opinion, it is fact acknowledged by the courts at every level except, it seems, the Canadian government.

http://www.freepeltier.org/toronto_sun.htm

[anarchy1999]

44. rather old news. Thsnks though. Would you consider helping

Vets For Peace? www.veteransforpeace.org

See ya later.

[pitohui]

48. old news how

the surprise transfer away from family was just a few wks ago

[BeHereNow]

50. He is still in solitary confinement-

That was the big point of the post.
He was told he would be moved out of SC
when his files arrived. They did, he was not.
Not sure what Anarchy meant.
BHN

[anarchy1999]

52. Old news in that a couple of weeks ago we were all alerted to some strange

transfer. This family has gone to hell and back and then some.

It is a travesty of what we as "citizens" of this grand "Democracy", hold dear.

I'm so sorry.

[K-W]

49. It isnt old news until he gets his rights back. EOM

[rucky]

53. The AP is reporting that he got moved from Max security to...

Medium security.

Leonard Peltier Moved From Kansas To Indiana Prison

Reported by: AP
Web produced by: Neil Relyea
Photographed by: 9News
7/6/2005 10:39:58 PM
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A man serving a life sentence for allegedly killing two FBI agents in South Dakota 30 years ago has been moved to a federal penitentiary in Indiana.

Leonard Peltier was moved to the US Penitentiary in Terre Haute because the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, is being switched from maximum-security to medium-security.

The 60-year-old Peltier was a member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in the 1970s and was convicted of killing agents Ronald Williams and Jack Coler on June 26, 1975.

Both men were found shot in the head at point-blank range in a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation...

[Zorra]

54. kick

[Pobeka]

55. Kick. And take care of that arm BHN.

:hi:

[sintax]

56. nominated

no borders
no fences
unbound

[Zen Democrat]

57. God I love Robbie Robertson.

[BeHereNow]

60. Ever checked out John Trudell?

http://www.johntrudell.com
A documentary has just been released about him.
You can see a trailer of it from a link on his site.
His recording "Blue Indians" is nothing short of prophecy.
Buy it, you will not be disappointed-
You have the BeHereNow promise on that.
BHN

[Zorra]

64. Shared a stage with him back in the 90's.

I had no idea he was going to be at the gig.

He is an excellent and impressive speaker, and he was really nice.

[BeHereNow]

65. GET outta here- me too.

That's when I met him, in the 90's.
I played a club here in LA back then with
a guy, now dead, who was a friend of John's.
I saw John do a show here in LA a few years back, but
have not seen him listed for any local shows since.
Are you a musician too?
BHN

[Coexist]

66. kick