FROM THE ARCHIVE

FBI: No clemency for Peltier

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DECEMBER 7, 2000

Fearing the potential release of whom he calls a "cold and hardened criminal," FBI Director Louis Freeh is urging President Clinton not to grant Leonard Peltier clemency.

"Mr. President, there is no issue more deeply felt within the FBI or more widely shared within the law enforcement community than the belief that this attack by Peltier was nothing less than a complete affront to our cherished system of government under the rule of law," wrote Freeh in a letter to Clinton on Tuesday.

Joining Freeh in the request to keep the activist in prison is Representative Henry Hyde (R-IL), chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary. On Wednesday, Hyde said he would begin a letter campaign within the House, seeking to gain more Congressional opposition to the potential release of Peltier.

Imprisoned for almost 25 years, Peltier has been denied parole as recently as June. Numerous appeals in the court system have been denied, despite allegations of a lack of evidence that he murdered two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in 1975.

But the campaign to free Peltier has picked up in recent months. Supporters received a ray of hope when Clinton on Election Day said he would decide one way or another on Peltier's clemency application before he leaves office.

The imminent decision, which Freeh believes will come before the holiday, has reignited the strong opposition within the FBI community. In a separate, lengthy letter to Attorney General Janet Reno, Freeh says no other is "more strongly opposed by the rank-and-file of the FBI than the prospect of releasing this murderer."

Although no study has been made to determine the truthfulness of such a statement, present and former FBI agents, as well as other law enforcement, have developed web sites and taken out print and radio advertisements denouncing Peltier. Like Peltier supporters, many pursue the issue with vigor.

On the 25th anniversary of the shootout, Freeh issued another statement, calling on the public never to forget Peltier's "cold blooded crime."

Read Freeh's Letter to Clinton:
Freeh: Peltier a Cold, Hardened Criminal (The Talking Circle 12/7)

More Peltier Letters:
Freeh to Rep. Henry Hyde, Freeh to Attorney General Janet Reno (FBI Office of the Director 12/5)
Hyde Opposes Clemency for FBI Agent Killer Leonard Peltier (Rep. Henry Hyde 12/6)
FBI: 'Brutal slaying' at Oglala (The Talking Circle 6/26)

Related Stories:
Pro-Peltier student targeted by feds (12/6)
FBI still wants Peltier behind bars (The Talking Circle 11/29)
US judge won't extradite Native man (Tribal Law 11/24)
Peltier fast held in Denver (The Talking Circle 11/24)
Mandela asked to help Peltier (The Talking Circle 11/22)
Clinton: I'll decide on Peltier (The Talking Circle 11/09)
Text of Clinton's remarks on Peltier (The Talking Circle 11/09)
In Television: Peltier subject of documentary (Arts and Entertainment 10/16)
FBI recalls Oglala shootout (The Talking Circle 06/26)
FBI: 'Brutal slaying' at Oglala (The Talking Circle 06/26)
Group seeks Peltier clemency (The Talking Circle 05/17)
FBI Promises to Prevent Peltier Pardon (The Talking Circle 04/21)
Peltier supporters respond (The Talking Circle 04/21)

Relevant Links:
Free Leonard Peltier - www.freepeltier.org
The Leonard Peltier File, FBI - www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/minn/peltier.htm
The No Parole Peltier Association - www.noparolepeltier.com