|
My mom was a longtime Amnesty member and I grew up with Amnesty meetings in my living room. As a child, my friends and I joined the letter writing on behalf of unjustly detained people in prisons. We drew pictures with simple messages of hope. I was forever changed when a man we wrote letters for was finally released and even came to my house for a gathering!
My mom and Amnesty International taught me that simple acts of everyday activism can change people’s lives.
I’ve known about the injustice of Leonard Peltier’s case and I’ve advocated for him for decades and the larger tragedy of Pine Ridge and what has been described as the FBI’s reign of terror on this Indigenous community. Not only has Leonard Peltier spent more than 47 years in prison between the USA and Canada despite maintaining his innocence, no one has ever been held accountable for the death that day of Joe Stuntz, a young American Indian Movement activist.
After former President Obama’s confounding denial of his clemency, Leonard Peltier’s case became a priority for me because time is quickly running out for him — and this continued inhumanity is absolutely unacceptable.
I hope you will join us in taking action together to help Leonard Peltier spend the time he has left with his community.
Please join in the urgent call on President Biden to free Leonard Peltier now! Together, our voices can make a difference.
Over the many years since Leonard Peltier’s conviction, more and more people have called for his clemency, including the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, other Nobel Peace Laureates, former FBI agents, Tribal Nations, state legislators and a growing number of members of Congress. James H. Reynolds, the U.S. Attorney whose office handled Leonard Peltier’s criminal case prosecution and appeal, has said,
“Leonard Peltier’s conviction and continued incarceration is a testament to a time and a system of justice that no longer has a place in our society.”
Join them by adding your name: Tell President Biden that he must grant Leonard Peltier clemency now.
Thank you for all that you do,
|
