It’s now Joe Biden’s decision whether Leonard Peltier lives or dies.

Biden can choose to be Leonard’s liberator…or his executioner.  There is no middle ground.  The outgoing president can never escape personal responsibility.

For millions who’ve studied the case, the only clear and obvious judgement is that Leonard Peltier is innocent of the murders for which he was convicted in 1976 and sentenced to two life sentences.
 For millions more, there’s no doubt at very least that he has never been given a fair trial.  The two courtroom fiascos that resulted in his being imprisoned for a half-century have in retrospect zero credibility.

No student of the legal system can credibly argue that Leonard could be convicted in a fair legal proceeding today.

There is no doubt that Leonard will die if not released from prison. He is 80 years old and afflicted with a very wide range of lethal medical conditions that will soon claim his life.  

There is also no question that Donald Trump would ever consider freeing him.  So if Joe Biden does not act, the life sentences imposed on him a half-century ago will become a death sentence.

As he has done for his son, and now for many others in far less medical danger, Biden could pardon Peltier.

As he has recently done for still more US citizens, Biden could alternatively commute Leonard’s sentence, or grant him clemency.

He could also remand Leonard to the custody of his tribe.  A similar remanding was done in 1988 for a Canadian citizen (Bruce Curtis) convicted of murder…who was remanded to the custody of his native land, which held him in prison, then eventually freed him.

Protections would have to be arranged to prevent Donald Trump from seizing him back from his tribe.  But the legality of such a remanding is clearly established, with compelling historic precedent.

Long ago, a justice-minded president might have afforded Peltier what was most clearly in order:  a new trial, where his guilt or innocence might have been definitively established.  The law on that course of action is murky, and time has essentially run out.

Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bush 1, Bill Clinton, Bush 2, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Biden could all have done one or more of the above.  (Technically, in the brief hours when she was president during Biden’s 2021 colonoscopy, Kamala Harris could have done the same).

Peltier’s years of torturous incarceration have denied him the right to see his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Definitive documentation of the injustices that define his case has come in many forms, including Peter Mattiessen’s book In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, and Robert Redford’s documentary film Incident at Oglala.

Over the decades, scores of world leaders have asked that Leonard be freed, as have numerous judges, prosecutors, legal experts and other figures who were once key to his conviction.

Amnesty International and other national and global organizations continue to work to save Leonard’s life. ( https://www.amnestyusa.org/cases/leonard-peltier/ )

But the brutal, unjust road is now at an end.  Before January 20, 2025, President Joe Biden must either get Leonard out of prison…or take personal responsibility for his death.

Leonard Peltier’s case will be discussed at GREEP Zoom #204 on Monday, 2pm Pacific Time (https://grassrootsep.org/upcoming-zooms).  Take Action via  Amnesty International (  https://www.amnestyusa.org/cases/leonard-peltier/ ) and/or by calling the White House, your Senators/Representatives, etc.