Dear Supporters:
On 2/4/19 the International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee (ILPDC) distributed the following message on behalf of Leonard Peltier. (The ILPDC message is indented and italicized with NPPA comments and emphasis added):
The National Office and Board of Directors, are asking that you e-mail the following Bureau of Prison officials requesting that they re-assign the cellmate of Mr. Leonard Peltier 89637-132 to his own cell for the following reasons:
It is with incredible concern that I learned that Leonard Peltier 89637-132 was assigned a cellmate. This is highly unusual as Leonard has had a single cell for a considerable amount of time, making this sudden assignment suspect.
This isn’t the first time Peltier whined about cellmates. Goodness gracious, imagine the horror that on March 24, 2011 at USP Lewisburg “another prisoner was moved into Leonard’s cell.” (Fn. 1)
Practically since day one (and we’ll consider Day One as February 6, 1976 with his arrest by the RCMP), Peltier has marketed himself as an exceptional case, an allegedly privileged character—a wrongfully convicted political prisoner—or so the then developing folklore and myth would have us believe.
But what happened to Peltier the tough guy?
Peltier is a tough guy when he and others are shooting at two agents pinned down in an open field. He’s the tough guy participating in cold-blooded murder, blowing away the faces of two wounded and defenseless human beings. He’s the tough guy when he sticks a gun in a woman’s mouth and threatens her life and he’s the tough guy when he and others steal government property and make a run for it (well maybe not that tough as a fleeing felon thief).*
But what happened to Peltier the tough guy?
Peltier is a tough guy when he and others are shooting at two agents pinned down in an open field. He’s the tough guy participating in cold-blooded murder, blowing away the faces of two wounded and defenseless human beings. He’s the tough guy when he sticks a gun in a woman’s mouth and threatens her life and he’s the tough guy when he and others steal government property and make a run for it (well maybe not that tough as a fleeing felon thief).*
But apparently he has been pampered considerably over the years with a cell to himself, painting his days away and running a business against prison rules. But that’s another story.
There has been an unfortunate historywith Leonard being negatively impacted by the actions of cellmates. The time he had a cellmate in USP Lewisburg, he received disciplinary action including a transfer to USP Coleman, for contraband Leonard had nothing to do with and he is concerned this could happen again.
Let’s examine this “unfortunate history.”
On 6/27/11 at USP Lewisburg Peltier received two “Shots” (inmate jargon for prison infractions) that put him in the “hole” for six months (solitary confinement, which by Peltier’s own admission he’d spent in excess of five years worth). One was minor for claiming (for which he had no proof) that he had received a 20-pound Scottish note through the prison mail system and was attempting to send it to someone else. A minor infraction perhaps, but the significant event was that Peltier’s then cellmate was transferred two weeks prior and during a subsequent routine cell inspection a guard received an electrical shock. Please see the following for an explanation of Corrections Officer Hamilton’s report and details of this incident (Fn. 2). Peltier was playing dumb that in that tiny cell he didn’t see the exposed wires, and that’s hard to believe, but what’s not hard to believe is that he did at least see or know about the exposed wires but chose not to do the right thing and advise Officer Hamilton.
This pattern of the BOP against Mr. Peltier is similar to the time that the BOP used another Native prisoner, Standing Deer in a plot to assassinate Mr. Peltier.
The Standing Deer (true name, Robert Hugh Wilson) claim as the alleged catalyst for Peltier’s escape from Lompoc Penitentiary has as little truth as the decades long lie of Peltier’s only alibi, that Mr. X killed the Agents and drove off in the infamous red pickup. Both assertions are ludicrous.
Rather than repeat here—again—all the fallacies surrounding the Standing Deer nonsense, a previous Editorial Essay devoted considerable details calling out Peltier on this outrageous lie and his lame excuse for the armed Lompoc escape. (FN. 3)
That the ILPDC believes and spreads the Standing Deer drivel is understandable, they are clueless to the facts, blinded by folklore, and besides, these are the great warrior/victim’s claims that they best not ignore. But even the mentor and Peltier scribe, Peter Matthiessen and the deceased Bob Robideau help defuse the babble that Standing Deer was drafted to kill Peltier. (Sorry for using the wrong verb, kill, we’re talking about the “innocent political prisoner” Leonard Peltier, who prefers assassinate! More nonsense.)
(Without attribution this ILPDC appeal was simply signed, Sincerely.)
No Parole Peltier Association supporters are entitled to do the same, contact the Bureau of Prisons and express their opinion that Peltier is neither entitled to nor deserves any special treatment. It can be pointed out as well that Peltier should be given as much compassion as he showed to Jack Coler and Ron Williams; and that would be none.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
* 1) Remember, that during Peltier’s escape from Pine Ridge he was in the front passenger seat of a motor home pulled over by Oregon State Troopers. Under the seat was Agent Coler’s revolver in a paper bag that had Peltier’s thumbprint on it.
2) In early 2009 Peltier was transferred from USP Lewisburg to USP Caanan in Waymart, PA. He wasn’t there long before he, to use the phrase from a real tough guy, caught a beating, from two inmates, reportedly gang members who likely weren’t buying into the great warrior, privileged political prisoner tripe or perhaps weren’t impressed that he was a cop killer. Maybe they didn’t care for him because of the reputation that preceded him or maybe they just wanted the bragging rights that they kicked the snot out of the self-proclaimed legend and protector of his people. Don’t know if the gang members were prosecuted or wound up in solitary themselves, but at any rate they should have been. Picking on a then sixty-five year old man, who at least on July 28thof that year was a bloated figure staring at his sneakers in front of the parole board hearing officer, Peltier wouldn’t have put up much of a fight. In stark contrast to this warrior was the infamous Teflon Don, John Gotti who was severely beaten while serving his life sentence at USP Marion. Gotti didn’t whine or complain, he simply told the guards that he “fell.”
Footnotes:
1) Peltier wants his own room…. http://wwwnoparolepeltiercom-justice.blogspot.com/2011/04/
2) The Peltier shot… http://wwwnoparolepeltiercom-justice.blogspot.com/2011/08/
3) Please take a little time to learn about Standing Deer: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#standi
Peltier’s alibi lie of Mr. X: (Mr. X the Interview), (Mr. X the Movie),
Mr. X The Lie: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/lie.html
Peltier: Important Reminders: http://wwwnoparolepeltiercom-justice.blogspot.com/2018/03/peltier-important-reminders.html
