Leonard Peltier
A Case for Clemency



By Ben Burnham
Due 5-2-01
Intro. Criminal Justice
Prof. Carollo
Term Paper


Introduction
In this class we are learning the roles of the policing bodies of this nation. The majority of the actions of these bodies are mutually beneficial to the citizen and community as well as the maintenance of the nation. However there are two sides to every coin. Not every action taken by the policing bodies are fair and indiscriminate.
The Leonard Peltier case is an extremely sensitive issue on both sides. There are many powerful and influential people who stand on either side. I do have a personal opinion about the case, however I tried my best not to allow that to influence this paper. I will present the accounts from both points of view of the events of June 26th, 1975 at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. I hope to present enough information to allow all of you to form your own educated opinion of the matter.

Background
Leonard Peltier is an Anishinabe-Lakota born in 1944. He spent much of his adult pre-incarceration life doing community service for Native Americans. Like Alcohol counseling, employing them at his body shop, and helping found a Halfway house for native ex-prisoners in Seattle. His support and involvement in the AIM (American Indian Movement) brought him to the Pine Ridge Reservation that fateful day. He was asked to come to Pine Ridge after an atmosphere of tension had been established on the reservation spanning nearly a century.
It started late in the year of 1890. White settlers of Native land in the Midwest plains began to grow nervous. There had been a rise in the tradition known as the "Ghost Dancers." The Ghost Dancers and their dance of the same name was a ritual that meant that all the spirits of their ancestors and buffalo slain by the White man would rise from the dead and restore their land to the way it was. As military and political officials of the area became nervous and afraid they called in army regimen. They feared the growing popularity of this ritual would spawn Native rebellion. General Nelson A. Miles assembled a troop of 5,000 soldiers. On December 15, 1890, they moved in to arrest Chief Sitting Bull. In this attempt, Chief Sitting Bull was murdered.
On December 29, 1890, as Big Foot's band of Miniconjou Sioux made up of 120 men and 230 women and children fled for the Pine Ridge Reservation, Col. James Forsyth and the 7th Cavalry at Wounded Knee Creek encompassed them. He ordered the Natives to disarm themselves. Accounts know get sketchy (as they tend to do when the U.S. Government could possibly be blamed for something) as to who shot first. One account holds that the shot cam from a brawl within the Indian camp over a rifle and it went off (. Whoever the cause, the result was horribly tragic. Native casualties are disputed, one account says that 153 were killed and 44 wounded (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jamarcus/ammmy.html). While US casualties were only 25 dead and 39 wounded. Those are the expected results when the battle is high-powered Hotchkiss guns versus clubs, knives, axes, and the occasional rifle.
This did not sit well with the Sioux, as can be expected. They held the massacre in their mind to this day. And on Feb 27th, 1973, hundreds of AIM members and traditional Indians flooded the area of the Wounded Knee Creek in memorial to those slain. They endure a 72-day standoff, surrounded by the FBI. Which resulted in three Indian deaths. The ordeal ended on May 9th, 1973. The elders of the Oglala Nation ask for the AIM to send some of its members to help protect the community. The FBI, noticing this influx of Natives (especially those well-known to be political activists), begins large-scale mobilization in the community.
So, now there is a little background information on what the atmosphere in the reservation was like before the Leonard Peltier incident. Still the events of that day remain unclear and controversial. There are several accounts of these events. I am going to present two of these accounts; the ones I feel are the ends of the spectrum. The first is the account from the NPPA, No Parole Peltier Association. This account is, as if you couldn't tell, against the retrial and/or clemency of Leonard Peltier. The second is from the LPDC, Leonard Peltier Defense Commission. An organization dedicated to the retrial/release of Leonard Peltier.

NPPA's account
"In the early 1970's, American Indian Movement (AIM) members had been engaged in conflicts between themselves (Traditionalists) and other Native Americans (Non-traditionalists) represented by Dick Wilson, President of the Pine Ridge Tribal Counsel. AIM believed that there was a deliberate campaign by the FBI, BIA, and Wilson to stop their activist activities on behalf of Native Americans. AIM members and supporters believed there was a two-year "reign of terror" (beginning with the takeover of Wounded Knee to the Pine Ridge incident), which targeted Native American activists and resulted in the unsolved deaths of approximately 60 Native Americans.
"FBI Special Agents Jack R. Coler and Ronald A. Williams entered the Jumping Bull Compound on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota shortly before 12 noon on June 26, 1975. Without a warrant, but as we learned, federal agents need not possess an actual warrant.
"Agents Coler and Williams, traveling in separate, unmarked, late model FBI vehicles were following up on information that a wanted Native American, Jimmy Eagle, was believed to have recently been at Pine Ridge driving a red vehicle. The Agents believed that they had spotted Jimmy Eagle and followed him onto the Jumping Bull property.
"FBI employees and agents some distance away from Jumping Bull heard Agent Williams broadcast over the FBI radio that they were being fired upon from individuals in the vehicle they were following and elsewhere within the Jumping Bull Compound. Agent Williams's radio transmissions were brief, lasting approximately 10 minutes.
"Subsequent crime scene investigation and autopsy results determined that the agents returned a total of 5 shots and were injured as follows:
-Agent Coler had fired one shot from a service revolver, one shot from a 12-gauge shotgun and one shot from a .308 rifle. He received an initial wound nearly severing his right arm, a wound to the top of his head, and a second to his jaw, both delivered at contact range with a high-powered rifle.
-Agent Williams fired two shots from his service revolver and was wounded initially in his left arm, left side, and foot. A fatal shot fired at contact range went through his right hand and into his face.
-Their vehicles received a total of 125 bullet holes, not counting those that either missed or went through the shattered windows and were not recovered.
"A massive FBI investigation was conducted which resulted in the indictments of Darrelle (Dino) Butler, Robert (Bob) Robideau, and Leonard Peltier for the murder of the two agents and aiding and abetting in those murders.
"Butler and Robideau were arrested first. Peltier was arrested in Canada and eventually extradited to the U.S. Butler and Robideau were tried before U.S. District Court Judge Edward McManus at a jury trial in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in June and July 1976, and were acquitted based on self-defense.
"Peltier was tried before U.S. District Court Judge Paul Benson at a jury trial in Fargo, North Dakota in March and April 1977, convicted, and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences." (http://www.noparolepeltier.com)

Contradictions and Questions? I cannot dispute this account. I was not there, I have never been there, and I have done only limited research (compared to the author) of the incident. But there are some questions and comments I would like have answered. First of all, what agents heard the radio transmission? Why were they not used as backup if the suspect was so "hostile"? If the two other AIM members were acquitted on the basis of self-defense, why was Peltier not also, since it was not proved he delivered the fatal shot?
Also the crime that Jimmy Eagle was accused of, getting in a fight and stealing a pair of cowboy boots!

LPDC's Account "Almost immediately after a small group of concerned Native Americans formed AIM in 1968, the FBI was there laying in wait. When the FBI's Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) was finished with nearly destroying the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, they then focused their full attention on the American Indian Movement.
"On February 27, 1973 when AIM and traditional natives began their symbolic seventy-two day standoff at Wounded Knee (the sight of the1890 massacre), the U.S. Government had its first opportunity to launch a military-type assault against the Native American peoples in nearly one hundred years. When the standoff ended the FBI began its large-scale mobilization in the native community.
"With the Tribal Chairperson Dick Wilson and his federally armed GOON (Guardians of the Oglala Nation) squad at the FBI's disposal, the "reign of terror" began. During this three to four year period over sixty (64) AIM and traditional native people were killed and hundreds more were wounded as Dick Wilson tried to silence the uprising that had begun.
"In 1975 the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation was reported as having the highest crime rate in the U.S. In May of 1975 the FBI began training SWAT teams on the reservation. By the end of the month sixty more agents were sent to Pine Ridge, not to mention the 1,000 members of the National Guard training in the sacred Black Hills.
"In April of that same year, the FBI released an internal memo entitled "The use of special agents of the FBI in paramilitary law enforcement in Indian country", which talks about imaginary "bunkers" which would need "military assault forces" if AIM offered any resistance. On June 16th the FBI called for more agents.
"On June 26, 1975 the FBI entered private property under the guise of serving a factious warrant on a young native man who was accused of stealing a pair of cowboy boots. This property was also housing several active members of AIM.
"A shoot-out erupted and soon over 150 FBI agents, SWAT team members, BIA police, white vigilante ranchers, and the National Guard surrounded the thirty men, women and children in the area. Two FBI agents and one Native were killed. Within hours the federal government stormed the area to hunt down AIM activists. This small governmental army was equipped with a spotter plane, helicopter, chemical-warfare team, and a special team of snipers. Even the Marines had high explosives specially flown into the area.
"The reports of a red pick-up truck at the crime scene were immediately reported from the FBI agents in the field. The largest manhunt in U.S. history was initiated to find the few dozen activists and families that were involved in the incident.
"The FBI although having several other suspects with overwhelming evidence against them, decided to fabricate evidence and turn the "full prosecutive weight of the federal government" against Leonard Peltier (see the FBI files available through LPDC). After the acquittal of two other AIM members on the grounds of self defense, the FBI was able to pool all their resources against the man they considered to be the "Manager" of AIM: Leonard Peltier. On February 6, 1976 Peltier was apprehended in Canada and was officially charged with the murder of the two FBI agents. After a fraudulent affidavit was submitted to Canadian authorities from a woman who claimed to be an eyewitness to the murder, Leonard Peltier was extradited to stand trial in the U.S.
"Shortly Peltier's illegal extradition on December 17, 1976 his case was mysteriously and suspiciously transferred from Judge McManus to Judge Benson. On April 18, 1977 after the prosecuting team had fifteen days to present its case to the jury and the defense had six days (with only two days being in front of the jury), Peltier was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
"Four years later, in 1981, through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, documents released from the FBI began to show Peltier's innocence. Out of the thousands of official pages surrounding the investigation of this case the FBI is still withholding over 6,000 of them from Peltier's attorneys for various reasons/excuses.
"Even with all of the evidence in support of Peltier's innocence his motions for appeal have been denied on three separate occasions." (http://www.freepeltier.org)

Word Battles
Arguments for both sides There have been many confrontations between persons on both sides of the issue. While these arguments have never led to violence, they have led to hostility and controversy. Some of these confrontations follow.
In the next section, I quote prosecutor Lynn Crooks as saying something that seems to be in defense of Peltier. However it is unfair to take that statement out of context. The following is the context of the statement. These are the exact words from the stenographic report of the appeal hearing:
Judge Heaney: Just let me make myself a little more clear. It seems to me that this would have been an entirely different case, both in terms of the manner in which it was presented to the jury and the sentence that the judge imposed, if the only evidence that you have was that Leonard Peltier was participating on the periphery in the fire fight and the agents got killed. Now that would have been an entirely different case. But the evidence here is that the agents were killed at close range and that Peltier was at the vehicles so he could have done the killing and that even though somebody else may have pulled the trigger, he had the AR-15 and was there with these other two men and that therefore they were directly implicated. Because I doubt that if all he had been was like Brown who was also shooting, and a number of others who were also shooting from the periphery. I don't think this would have been the same case at all.
[Assistant United States Attorney] Crooks: Well, undoubtedly it wouldn't but I have no doubt whatsoever that we still would have convicted him. I think the best precedent that one can point to is the recent murder of our two marshals. We have exactly the same kind of situation. But we can't prove who shot those agents. (http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/minn/peltier.htm)
The NPPA also disputes the fact that there were more government agents than the 2 agents who were killed. The evidence they site for this claim was radio transmissions from Williams and Coler heard by the FBI Resident Agency in Rapid City (RCRA). The transmission seems to be a continuous conversation including:
"There are several guys around this house...and it looks like they're going take off. They're getting
"into that pickup. I hope you have a lot of gas,"
"It looks like those guys are going to shoot at us!,"
"We got a problem here… get up on the hill, we're being fired at,"
"they are on the ridge above us and firing on us,"
"I've been hit,"
and of course gunfire. (http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/minn/peltier.htm)
The NPPA cites that because all of these transmissions occur within a ten-minute period up to and through noon of that day that this means that they were met with gunfire upon entering the property.
It is important to note that none of the radio transmissions were recorded because the FBI did not have a system in place to record any radio transmissions. The accounts of the conversation are just from memory of those who heard them.
"Clearly, based on the overheard conversations, the agents did not stop, exit their vehicles, and start shooting. Their shooting was a result of trying to defend themselves from attack." -NPPA website
I don't see how anyone can make the connection between the radio transmissions and this conclusion. It proves that they were fired at, which is not a disputed point, but it does not rule out that the fire they received was self-defense.
The NPPA website admits "They [SA's Williams and Coler] knew from the outset of driving onto the reservation that they were out-numbered and ill-equipped for an armed confrontation with only their service revolvers with them inside the vehicles (their more powerful weapons still in the trunks). They were miles away from any responding assistance, and in an understandably hostile area with an AIM campnearby."(http://www.noparolepeltier.com) This seems to contradict what they earlier said. Why would these agents put themselves in a position even for the potential for a gunfight if they were so ill prepared? Why did they not wait, or even call for back up? It seems like there's more to this story.
Also, Agent Coler suffered a debilitating wound nearly severing his arm. This injury occurred while he was opening the trunk of the car to retrieve his higher-powered weapons. The shot passed through the trunk and hit Agent Coler. Somehow he still managed to fire one round from both his 12-gauge shotgun and .308 rifle, with one arm blown off!?
The affidavits that were used to extradite Peltier from Canada were based on the supposed eyewitness testimony of one Myrtle Poor Bear. So, why was this testimony never heard on trial? The prosecutors "determined Myrtle Poor Bear was incompetent to testify at trial due to obvious mental deterioration prior to trial…" (http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/minn/peltier.htm.) So, if she was mentally incompetent to testify against Peltier in trail, then how can she be taken seriously enough to convince the US government to issue not one but three affidavits for Peltier's extradition.
However Myrtle Poor Bear was questioned on the stand away from the ears of the jury. Only Judge Benson heard her testimony. The purpose of this was to determine whether or not her testimony was relevant to the case. She was used by the defense to show that she was forced into giving the false affidavit for extradition. Her testimony went like this.
Q: (Mr. Elliot Taikeff) What is your name?
A: My name is Myrtle Poor Bear…
Q: Do you know a person by the name of Leonard Peltier?
A: No…
Q: Did you ever see him in your life?
A: No…
Q: Were you ever at the Jumping Bull are on the Pine Ridge Reservation?
A: No.
Q: Did you ever live with Leonard Peltier?
A: No…
Q: Last night, did you tell me you were frightened?
A: Yes, I did.
Q: What were you frightened of?
A. I don't know. I am scared of the Government.
She was then cross-examined by Mr. Lynn Crooks:
Q: You said earlier that you didn't know Leonard Peltier before walking in the courtroom, isn't that right?
A: Right.
Q: Myrtle, why was it when you walked into the courtroom that you gave Leonard Peltier a big smile?
A: I don't know.
Q: You just picked him out as a person you wanted to smile at?
A: Probably.
Q: Has anybody threatened to do something to you if you did not change your story?
A: No.
Q: Nobody ever suggested it?
A: No…
Q: Why were you signing those affidavits?
A: I don't know.
Q: Well did Bill Wood threaten to harm you or hurt you if didn't sign?
A: (No Response)
Q: Can you answer that question?
Mr. Taikeff: Your honor, I'd like the record to reflect a 45 second pause measured by the courtroom clock between the last question and the following question.
Q:(By Mr. Crooks) Can you answer the question, Myrtle?
A: I was forced to sign both of those papers.
Q: By whom?
A: They said one of my family members was going to be hurt if I didn't do it. By Dave Prive and Bill Wood….(Matthiessen, 1991)
So it is obvious that she was forced into the signing of those affidavits. Nevertheless, Judge Benson determined that the testimony of Myrtle Poor Bear's as long as the rest dealing with the false affidavits was "irrelevant" to the case. (Matthiessen, 1991)
But all of the evidence used to convict Peltier was testimonial and circumstantial. Testimony included a witness of the Agents pulling a vehicle over they believed contained Jimmy Eagle. Then its occupants, Robideau, Norman Charles, and Peltier exited their vehicle and began firing. This witness, Michael Anderson, has since admitted to coercion to testify by the FBI. This witness must have dived to hide, because there is no witness of the AIM members approaching the agent's vehicles to deliver the fatal shots. However, they did find one of Robideau's fingerprints on the inside door handle of Agent Williams car, and he was eventually acquitted. Testimony also tells of AIM members later being in possession of the agents stolen guns. However this was not proven. One shell was recovered from the vehicle belonging to an AR-15. Testimony tells that only Peltier was in possession of an AR-15. However it was not that AR-15 that delivered the fatal blow.
Also an important note, Michael Anderson, Robert Robideau, and Norman Charles were on the Kansas Turnpike, near Wichita on September 10th, 1975 when their car blew up. Reportedly from firearms and explosives placed to close to a hole in the exhaust pipe. Recovered from the ash was a burned up AR-15 and Agent Williams .308 rifle. Again, Robideau was acquitted.
Finally when Peltier was apprehended in Hiton, Alberta, Canada he was "heavily" armed. He told the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that he knew why he was being taken in. He said that 2 agents were shot when they came to serve him a warrant on him. They were really after Jimmy Eagle. Had the FBI described the vehicle as more than "a red vehicle", this whole fiasco could have been averted. To me that's not enough probable cause to pull someone over.
It is also important to note that Peltier was not leading an angelic lifestyle. He was a political activist. At the time of the murders, Peltier was the subject of an outstanding federal warrant for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution (UFAP). The UFAP warrant was issued after Peltier fled Milwaukee to avoid apprehension and prosecution for the attempted murder of an off-duty police officer in that city. I am unaware of the causes, circumstances and/or results of that charge. But why was he charged with just the UFAP and not attempted murder? These charges were never brought against Peltier.
So, there are the accounts of the event that day. However, some of the events that followed in the years after the trial are just as interesting if not more so. But they didn't help clear up the events of that day. In fact, they stirred up more controversy.

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