President William J. Clinton
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington DC 20500
Tel: 001-202-456-1111
Email: President@whitehouse.gov

Dear President Clinton,

I am writing to express my full support for parole for Mr. Leonard Peltier. Mr. Peltier is a Native American who has now been incarcerated for some 24 years after having been found guilty of the murder of two FBI agent. Mr Peltier has always proclaimed his innocence. Indeed, to the current day there is not one piece of direct evidence to implicate Mr. Peltier in the deaths of the two FBI agents and in 1986, 1993, 1995, & 1997 U.S. prosecutors admitted that they "......do not know who killed the agents......." On the contrary, ample evidence exist to question the fairness of Mr. Peltier's trial in 1977 and the subsequent appeals and evidentiary hearings ­ the FBI knowingly used perjured testimony to obtain Mr. Peltier's extradition from Canada to the USA
­ trial judge Justice Benson was known for his anti­Indian sentiments
­ Mr. Peltier was tried by an all­white jury and not by a jury of his peers
­ Judge Benson refused to allow the jury to hear testimony of FBI misconduct and interfered with the cross­ examination of prosecution witnesses
­ Mr. Peltier's attorneys were denied the right to call relevant defense witnesses
­ ballistic reports were fabricated in order to connect him directly to the agents deaths
­ prosecutors withheld vital evidence

In the light of these and other facts the European Parliament and the governments of Italy and Belgium have passed resolutions calling for clemency. The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) of Canada and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), Amnesty International, Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Rigoberta Menchu Tum and the Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Dalai Lama, the Archbishop of Canterbury, former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark, many US, British and French parlamentarians and millions of people around the world also call for the release of Mr. Peltier.

Mr. Peltier has served far longer than most prisoners convicted of similar crimes, and his conduct in prison has been examplary. During his many years of incarceration he has constantly strived to serve his people: working with medical experts to improve health care delivery on the reservations; helped to establish a program to assist talented Native youth; was instrumental in setting up a Native American scholarship program at New York University; helped start up a Native American newspaper in Washington State. He has also played a key role in promoting prisoner art programs. These fact alone warrant granting clemency to Mr. Peltier.

Now 55 years old Mr. Peltier's health has greatly deteriorated due to the lack of proper medical care during his incarceration. Not only does he suffer from a heart condition, as well as diabetes, he has also lost most of the vision in one eye. Surgical treatment worsened a jaw condition, so that Mr. Peltier is in constant pain and cannot move his jaw or chew his food. Mayo Clinic specialist, Dr. Keller has offered free treatment in prison facilities, but has been denied authorization to assist Mr. Peltier. All of these humanitarian issues weigh in favor of clemency.

Sincerely,