Showing posts with label AIM. Pine Ridge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AIM. Pine Ridge. Show all posts

Saturday, June 26, 2021

PELTIER: "Is a forgotten story" & James Reynolds

Dear Supporters:

 

In a recent post begging, as usual, for more cash and accompanied this time with a video, Peltier is falling way short of his goal to pay his attorneys for work on possible parole, transfer to another facility, clemency and his Washington State case.

 

By Peltier’s account the money-well is all but dried up, but at least he’s not claiming that donations are ‘tax deductible.’ Maybe Peltier finally learned a lesson from the IRS (Footnote 1). However, there is still a lingering allusion from Peltier’s message that the convicted felon appears to be running a business from federal prison and we have to wonder if taxes are being paid on these donations.

 

Peltier has to ask himself what happened to all his prior attorneys. Many in the beginning and during lengthy appeals were paid by the largesse of the American taxpayer. Many provided pro bono support, without success, and with little gratitude from Peltier. The latest ones apparently want their billable hours covered.

 

As for a transfer to a prison closer to the Turtle Mountain Reservation, does Peltier really need an attorney? He can make his request directly to the Bureau of Prisons.

 

Parole? Although entitled to parole review hearings every two years, most of which he declined to pursue, it was evident from his 2009 hearing at Lewisburg that the Parole Commission has little sympathy for a convicted double murderer and flopped him for fifteen years, which brings him at least to July 2024. (Fn. 2)

 

James Reynolds; A closer look

 

Peltier offered that “Even the former US Attorney James Reynolds has called for Leonard’s release.”

 

Reynolds certainly had the right to express his opinion about Peltier and clemency. However, his public statements remain severely inaccurate. Reynolds claimed that he had “directed” the appellate process, though, in reality, while allegedly doing so, in some abnormal and bizarre manner Reynolds crossed both State lines and federal judicial boundaries. 

 

No one is saying that Reynolds lied about his connection to the Peltier case but his actual involvement, according to the record of Peltier’s prosecution, clearly demonstrates that Reynolds either utterly exaggerated his perceived authority, unequivocally misremembered or just did not care about what actually occurred.

 

The facts speak for themselves and support that Reynolds’s claim of “directing” the Peltier prosecution is a “gross misstatement of the record,” and that there was “no conversation of any kind,” and that Reynolds “contributed nothing what-so-ever to what went into the final brief on Direct Appeal or into any of the subsequent government briefs resisting Peltier’s numerous attempts to obtain Post Conviction Relief.” 

 

Peltier and the ILPDC are invited to review the actual events and facts concerning Reynolds public statements. Reynolds, the actual interloper, offered unsupportable public comments that bordered on the extreme. (Fn. 3)

 

* * *

 

In the accompanying video in Peltier’s latest missive, Harry Belafonte said it best, “Leonard Peltier is a forgotten story.” 

 

But the memory of Jack Coler and Ron Williams certainly is not.

 

“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”

Ed Woods

 

Footnotes:

1) Tax-deductible issues: http://wwwnoparolepeltiercom-justice.blogspot.com/2017/10/peltier-tax-deductible-legal-issues.html

2) Parole hearing; Lewisburg http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#paroledenied

3) Reynolds:

Part 1, Three part series regarding the facts and the alleged authority Reynolds claimed in the Peltier case:  http://wwwnoparolepeltiercom-justice.blogspot.com/2017/01/peltier-reynolds-false-claims.html

Part II: http://wwwnoparolepeltiercom-justice.blogspot.com/2017/12/james-reynolds-part-ii-letters-public.html

Part III: http://wwwnoparolepeltiercom-justice.blogspot.com/2018/01/peltier-james-reynolds-part-iii-dancing.html

 

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

PELTIER: PARDON ATTORNEY LETTER

Dear Supporters:

What follows is a sample letter to the U.S. Department of Justice Pardon Attorney. This is the second step in the process to review Peltier’s recently resubmitted clemency application.[i]

Please feel free to add any additional or personal comments supporting the facts and stating that under President Obama’s plan to grant a number of clemencies, commutations and pardons for long-serving nonviolent drug offenses, that Leonard Peltier, a remorseless double-murderer, is the last person who should be considered.

Factual material is available from the NPPA through a search feature on the bottom of the home page in addition to 156 blogs (posted since 11/29/09) with footnotes and supporting references and documentation.

“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed

* * *

Edward Woods
8190 Beechmont Ave. #101
Cincinnati, Ohio 45255-6117                                                                                               
August 10, 2016

Honorable Robert A. Zauzmer
Acting Pardon Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C.  20530 -0001

                                                                        Re: Leonard Peltier – Clemency Petition

Dear Mr. Zauzmer:

This letter expresses my profound opposition to Leonard Peltier’s plea for clemency.

(Please reference my many previous letters to the Pardon Attorney and President Obama dating back to 2009. These letters contained detailed and factual material and references to the actual record of Peltier’s conviction and subsequent appeals. I have received several replies, one from the President and one in particular from former Pardon Attorney Rodgers dated January 13, 2012 where it stated Your letter will be retained and added to any case file created in the event that Mr. Peltier re-applies for executive clemency in the future.” [Peltier had not reapplied at that time.] These prior communications are crucial to understand the validity of Peltier’s conviction and numerous appeals, that his conviction has been sustained, and that his false alibis and claims of a wrongful conviction are simply without merit.)

I am aware that Leonard Peltier has renewed his application for clemency and that a support group continues to actively encourage his release. I served as a Special Agent with the FBI for thirty years and strongly believe that his petition for Clemency should be denied for many valid reasons.

On June 26, 1975, Peltier was involved in an unprovoked attack on FBI Agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams while they were searching for a fugitive on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Both Agents were caught in an open field in a deadly crossfire by members of the American Indian Movement, critically wounded, and then summarily executed at point blank range by Leonard Peltier. Peltier was convicted of their murders receiving consecutive life sentences. During well over a dozen appeals Peltier’s conviction and sentencing has never been altered. Over the years Peltier has made many outrageous and self-incriminating public statements that only serve to reinforce his unrepentant and remorseless guilt, even most recently; “And really, if necessary, I’d do it all over again because it was the right thing to do” (2010), and, “I don’t regret any of this for a minute” (2014).

Peltier has not been a model prisoner. In addition to numerous disciplinary actions, in 1978 he was involved in an armed escape from Lompoc Penitentiary during which shots were fired at prison guards. For this post-conviction criminal act Peltier received an additional seven-year consecutive sentence.

The families, friends and professional associates of Jack and Ron continue to suffer from the loss of two fine young men who were brutally murdered in-the-line-of-duty.

Clemency should be reserved for non-violent offenders who have proven they have been rehabilitated. Peltier has not fulfilled his consecutive life sentences, plus seven years. His crimes were extremely violent and he remains unrepentant and repeatedly boasts about his murderous acts on that horribly infamous day. Leonard Peltier is now seeking consideration and mercy, but he should be shown the same degree of mercy he gave to Jack Coler and Ron Williams, and that would be none.

I respectfully urge you to reject Peltier’s petition and recommend to the President that his application be denied. Thank you for your attention in this very crucial matter.

Sincerely,

Edw. Woods
Edward Woods                                                                                                                                                                                                                



[i] NPPA blogs available from the home page www.noparolepeltier.com particularly relevant here to blogs dated, May 17, 21, 25 and June 7, 16, & 26 for reference and how inept Peltier’s attorney’s were to make the clemency petition public.

Monday, June 8, 2015

PELTIER...40 YEARS...PART 3...IT'S ALL THEIR FAULT

Dear Supporters:

While waiting patiently for Peltier's comments on the 40th anniversary of the brutal murders of Agents' Jack Coler and Ron Williams--by the cowards of Jumping Bull, Peltier offers yet another litany of why his fortunes (financially, socially and  emotionally) have nearly evaporated; "My life is in your hands."*

More pathetic whining from USP Coleman inmate #89637-132, but this time he provides many reasons why, in his mind, it's everyone else's fault that he has arguably reached the lowest point in his fabricated and feigned popularity.

He claims that "Most of the good volunteers had to leave for their own careers or health reasons and some just wanted to move on...and I must admit, a few who came along who had their own agenda." ("Most?" So much gratitude for those who at least tried.)

Here's what happened: Peltier was able, with the support of sympathizers, to capitalize on his Native heritage; that his crimes were committed on the Reservation and he was convicted in federal court. This developed into a mantra that in some perverse way he did something heroic that sultry June day, that he acted heroically and bravely as a warrior and over time this message morphed into folklore status and the Myth of Leonard Peltier.**

Many of those who were attracted to the cause came with noble intentions and some with the way they believed the campaign should be managed; others, the fringe anti-America types (Jericho Movement #, Et. Al.), went along for the ride and what they could get out of it (and him). (Peltier has displayed a noticeable level of naiveté over the years.)

There were many attorneys as well who poured their hearts and valuable time into finding some justification for Peltier's release, all to no avail. The ones who worked pro-bono should be commended for their efforts; those who charged by the hour, well, it is a business. In either instance, Bruce "I'll take the Fifth" Ellison, being the exception in either case.

But in the end, as has been witnessed many times over the years, they all left the camp for one reason, Peltier. The reality is that they could stand just so much of the bullying narcissist. Peltier stumbled into his own sinkhole. Just as Narcissus in Greek mythology, Peltier eventually fell in love with his own reflection and is now incapable of separating the false image from his own.

Ever the beggar, again Peltier wants the cash, but, as many times as he's been called out, not once has he or his network divulged or admitted how much, or where, any of that money has gone over the years. He now directs would-be donators to a website that proclaims "Leonard's paintings are collected by celebrities and luminaries worldwide," yet in this recent statement contradicts that with, "I also hear that supporters think all my celebrity supporters have donated to the Committee? They rarely do and when they do their donations are far less than you might imagine."

So, which is it? They lavish him with money by buying his "artwork" or they are really cheapskates pandering on his name and who he now pushes off the cliff.

It is, and remains, just part of the ongoing scam, hidden behind alleged charitable and benevolent activities.  It's a con job, from a con man. Want proof? Review this Editorial Essay; and although dated 2004, 2006 and 2007, nothing has changed. Same predictable and deceptive fundraising rhetoric.***

Peltier ends with "Please do your part to help convince the President to let me go home."

Again, a reality check! Leonard Peltier, you are home; USP Coleman.

"In the Spirit of Coler and Williams"
Ed Woods

*http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/dispatch/leonard-peltier-mylife-is-in-your-hands-prison-dispatch05-june-2015/
**http://www.noparolepeltier.com/myth.html
***http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#fraud
#http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#Robideau-NYC
P.S. Not unexpectedly, there has been no reply from RIPDA (see previous blog)

Thursday, April 30, 2015

PELTIER FINALLY COMES CLEAN; April 30, 2015 (15 years and counting)

Dear Supporters: 

After all the years of lies, fabrications, misinformation, myths and folklore, Leonard Peltier has decided to come clean and finally tell the truth about what happened at Jumping Bull on June 26, 1975, and beyond.

Please visit the newest Peltier websites for a revelation of the facts surrounding his admissions.*




Within the above Internet links, Leonard Peltier provides the facts surrounding what he has worked so doggedly to protect since his conviction in 1977.

See here as he tells us:

--His only real alibi, that someone they knew killed the agents and drove off in the red pickup, was all a lie, a contrived story that Mr. X was the murderer.[i]

--That Peter Matthiessen was right when he reported that one of the agents, Agent Williams, when taking off his shirt to aid Agent Coler, waved it as a white flag of surrender. And that it was ignored by Peltier and the others.[ii]

--That all the fundraising has been just one long scam to fleece the gullible into believing that all that money was going somewhere, and certainly not to his defense.[iii]

--That he joined with other like-minded killers; Wesley Cook, aka Mumia Abu Jamal, and Timothy McVeigh.[iv]

--That the testimony of the four critical witnesses against him, were right, and the jury, as they should have, believed them.[v]

--That he really does believe all politicians are sleazebags.[vi]

--That he did mean it when he said “And really, if necessary, I’d do it all over again, because it was the right thing to do.”[vii]

--That even though the NPPA has been sending him copies of everything that’s put on the website, he does read it all, but never writes back.[viii]

--That the NPPA has been a thorn in his side for fifteen years, April 30, 2000, until now, April 30, 2015, and beyond.

“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods


*Satire is a way of making a point by exposing Peltier’s criminality and hypocrisy for all to see. The irony here will be lost only on Peltier himself and those who are too blinded by misplaced passion and often have either a mistaken or deliberate ignorance of the facts. Another satirical example is a 2009 letter to President Obama in which Peltier makes his case for consideration for clemency while accurately describing the truth and facts with relevant references to case history http://noparolepeltier.com/plea.pdf.

(Of course, since 2009, there have been many instances, all documented, where Peltier has completely reinforced his own guilt and contradicted the cesspool of fabrications he and his supporters still offer to the unsuspecting and uninformed. More to follow: Peltier’s second biggest lie…)



Sunday, March 22, 2015

PELTIER: A LIAR'S PATHOLOGY

Dear Supporters:

Reblogged from Rezinate:

https://rezinate.wordpress.com/2015/03/22/pathology-of-a-liar-redux/

"In the Spirit of Coler and Williams
Ed W.


As can be seen I originally blogged this in Feburary of ’13 and not much has changed. Peltier remains a pathological liar and hive members continue to ignore the facts and insist he is a martyr.
There’s an incremental diluting of the reasons to free him though – the emphasis is no longer that he is innocent, or that “X” did it, both claims proven to be unsustainable, now it is about  Peltier is old and on the verge of falling and not being able to get  up.
My response to that is others fell as the result of a bullet and they haven’t been able to get up for decades – no clemency, pardon, or “humanitarian” gesture is possible for them.
One could say they are in a sense political prisoners confined to a grave, the result of the politics of AIM – more specifically those of  it’s leadership.
A leadership that consisted of Dennis Banks, Russell Means, Clyde and Vernon Bellecourt, Carter Camp, and Leonard Crow Dog, plus an assortment of second tier flunkies.
All qualifying as “tugs” and “mad dog killers” as Peltier would put it.
Peltier is leaving himself an out, he’s steadfastly declared he would do it all again, but also would admit his role if “his” chiefs and elders told him so.
How convenient – admit the truth but portray it as questionable and only under advisement.
I can’t help but wonder who exactly are Peltier’s chiefs and elders?
Are they to be found in the AIM hierarchy? If so I’m kind of doubting they would risk opening such a can of worms, it could lead to a prisoner exchange – Peltier walks out and they walk in.
No, Peltier serves them best behind bars – as long as he remains there he is a red herring they can toss out to deflect attention away from themselves.
An added bonus is the possibility of a little revenue at times he can generate for them employing vehicles like the “walks” and “tribunals”.
Without Peltier they might have to contend with the murders of Annie Mae, Ray Robinson and his co-victims of WK2….and that’s the last thing they want.
Dino Butler was the first to go on record about “X”, he went so far as to characterize it as an effort to keep Peltier behind bars.
Yet inspite of this early admission the story was cultivated for years by “celebrities” and hapless supporters.
Who knows, maybe this dovetails with my contention that despite all the hoopla the leadership believes he actually does serve them better behind bars.
There are multiple genres in the film industry, from fantasy to action and even documentaries. A documentary, that was the way Incident at Oglala was promoted by Robert Redford.
A fact based recounting of the truth and events – problem is “X” was included for dramatic value and to raise doubts. I think it reasonable to assume some flagrant error, such a complete hoodwinking, would prompt a mea culpa from producers to narrator – yet that hasn’t happened, not so much as a whisper or rumor of remorse, nor admission of having been duped.
Maybe these documentarians and producers believe they’re too important, too big to fail to even consider such a thing …..if that’s the case no one should believe a damn thing they have to say about anything.
PATHOLOGY OF A LIARPosted by rezinate on February 16, 2013
February 6, 1976
When Leonard Peltier was arrested in Alberta, Canada, he said that the FBI agents “who had come to arrest HIM” at Pine Ridge for jumping bail on a Wisconsin attempted murder indictment deserved to die. (They hadn’t some to arrest him, and didn’t even know he was there).
He also said if he had known the RCMP were coming to arrest him (they walked into the bedroom where he was still sleeping, and woke him up), he would have shot them “out of their shoes.”
Because the admissions, including the statement that he knew who executed the FBI agents, were made without an attorney present, they couldn’t be introduced as evidence at his trial. However, both statements were considered in his sentencing and subsequent parole hearings.
The above a copy paste from the Leonard Peltier Still Guilty- it speaks to a number of things. One being Peltier’s thug attitude, another being when Creator was passing out brains and Peltier was asked if he wanted one he thought the word was trains and said he would catch a later one.
Peltier’s good fortune that his statements couldn’t be introduced into evidence, but as is said they have a direct influence on his parole status.
Peltier, like all all thugs and wannabe tough guys wants to be seen as someone not to fool with, a dangerous person when it comes down to it-so he’s compelled by that and his own ignorance to make such statements-to boast in front of women about shooting people, or brag about being a “hero”, “warrior” and “laying down fire” at agents Williams and Coler as his own words state in the Just For Discussion blogs.
None of which adds any credibility to his claim that he is a political prisoner, that’s just an affected persona-kind of like the warrior, hero thing.
It’s also intended to divert attention from the troublesome comments he’s made, the lies he’s been caught in, and the fact that despite every effort to remediate his sentence Peltier and his team have laid an egg.
Doesn’t stop the propaganda though, or attempts to continue milking the cash cow that Peltier has become- but as awareness grows, so does a predictable contempt resulting from an increasing familiarity with the truth.
Peltier would have one and all believe he’s going down swinging-truth is he’s just down period-he’s tried desperately to cast himself as one of the big dogs, but the reality is the only place for him is on the porch, or more appropriately as is the case his prison cell.
We are told now that Peltier’s current legal team are Bravado Boys from Buffalo- I don’t know about all that, but bravado has been a mainstay of the act Peltier has engaged in.
For his legal team to admit that the Mr. X mystery shooter was concocted sounds more like a whimper to me than bravado-but then there probably wasn’t much choice as the lie had been thoroughly discredited for years.
This being the case something new, something immediate had to be presented to fill the void that was created, divert attention, and hopefully not allow people the time to actually think and say -Hey, wait a minute, X is a lie? Then what else have they been lying about?
No that wouldn’t do at all-but one thing for sure, LPDOC knows their audience and how to play them. And dropping the Mr.X bomb was like the Friday night weekend White House news drop-the intent,the hope is, that in being the weekend people will be distracted while engaging in other things.
The example of this diversion? Frank DeLuca/Blackhorse and now Theda Nelson Clark-the timing of these hoped for distractions immediate in nature, and necessary.
That isn’t to say though neither should be looked at, and both for a multitude of reasons should be-among those reasons would be Theda’s role in the abduction murder of Annie and DeLuca’s homeboy status with Peltier and eerily comparable history one might liken to Dave Hill’s-you know that not going to be prosecuted for services rendered, the good of the public, etc etc.
That could also explain the reason why those AIM leader “patriots” seem to avoid prosecution, so maybe the same look, the same interest given to DeLuca and Clark should be given to them as well. But that’s apparently too much to hope for.
This Friday night drive by news drop worked to a degree though as we haven’t seen it picked up by the mainstream media, or journalists like Rickert. Now If I were a journalist, especially one of ours, this admittal would have been front page news for me, and I would have been in LPDOCs face about it- I would have emblazoned it across the front page in bold type challenging people to think about it and consider the implications.
But I’m not a journalist, and make no claim or pretense that I am, so I just do what others do, peck away at the keyboard pointing out what I believe to be flagrantly obvious and in doing so know that some will agree while others will not.
There’s a Shakespearian quote as follows:
“Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?”
I don’t consider myself noble in any sense of the word-I consider the truth to be, and I believe there is a great ignobility in the way AIM and the Peltierites have gone about attempting to bury it-such efforts should be seen for the sea of troubles they’ve created and opposed.
Having once been a Peltier supporter I know the mechanics of their denials, the lengths they will go to deny a truth and create or support a lie.They’ll throw anything and everything against the wall hoping something will stick while they apply liberal coats of Teflon to their boy.
He’s not a “tug”, not ” a mad dog killer”- he’s a “political prisoner” whose been “wronged”, because as they would have you believe he wasn’t just a “dumb as dirt” low level grunt, he was a “leader” of AIM, respected by one and all, and whose opinion was not only highly regarded but sought after.
He personally presented some huge threat to the U.S., to it’s very continuation and existence-a prophet and seer come to free the nations-a regular Wovoka with a variation-his dance included sticking a gun in a woman’s mouth to interrogate her, shooting mortally wounded men in the face at pointblank range, and not hesitating to run and abandon women, pregnant or not, than to face the music he had created.
A real role model huh, somebody you’d want your children to grow up like? In furtherance of that be sure to send some money to his “bravado” fund.
“Especially in this system, I can’t tell the system I was shooting at their police officers that WERE TRYING TO ARREST ME. They’ll hold that against me. I’VE GOT BE CAREFUL ABOUT THAT STUFF. ( Caps mine).
Yet Peltier has said he wasn’t shooting at them-that “nobody was shot, hit, hurt, killed”, in the direction he was shooting-he has also gone on to say he was “laying down fire”.
“I think it was around that December when I heard that Anna Mae was dead. I was in that jail over there in Canada right around whenever they exposed who she really was and what she died from, but I believe I didn’t hear about it until December. When people say that she tried to contact me, that’s a lie. If she’d have tried to contact me then she would have been with me, and there’s no doubt in my mind because the Indian people knew where I was; certain people knew where I was at. “
The problem with this statement is that he wasn’t in jail in Canada until February of the following year-1976. And by his own admission that he was in and out of the country the question arises was he around in December of ’75? And if so what was he doing and who was he in contact with?
He doesn’t seem to know which side to come down on- as though confused by Trudell’s statement that Banks told him prior to Annie’s body being identified that it was her, and the Banks line of he neither knows or ever knew anything about anything related to her murder. Lends credibility to the dumb as dirt moniker.
More than obvious Peltier is an inveterate liar, a pathological one incapable of even keeping the lies straight. It’s as though this liars pathology were a contagion, as it apparently infected the entire AIM leadership, a large number of their supporters, the Peltierites, and LPDOC itself.
The truth is the cure for that, but a vaccine many refuse to avail themselves of, depending instead on those “natural” remedies offered at the AIM LPDOC clinic


Monday, December 15, 2014

PELTIER: "We will" too...


Dear Supporters”

“Friends of Peltier” recently released a well-made YouTube video entitled “Time for you to stand up for Leonard Peltier.” It featured a number of people, young and old, Native American and not, known and unknown, famous and infamous, all offering a chorus of “I will” and “We will” lend support to encourage executive clemency for Leonard Peltier. (Footnote #1)

Some, without doubt, are sincere in their belief in Peltier’s innocence, or at least that he has served enough time for his crimes; others have their own agendas.

There’s no appearance in the video, but in a voice-over Peltier says:

“I am, of course, I’m very sorry for the lives that were lost. I’m grateful if the President would give me clemency. I’m grateful if he would give me justice, give my people justice.”

Thomas Poor Bear continues with “a firefight erupted” mentioning that three were killed and that prayers are offered for their families.

Thomas is dead wrong, (no pun intended), that “a firefight erupted.” We know exactly how things started and developed that day from one of the victims. Those in the FBI’s Rapid City office, and others, heard Ron Williams on the radio describing that in the vehicle they followed - they were stopping, they were getting out, it looks like they’re going to shoot; and the shooting started. Ron then tries to describe where they are and if help doesn’t get there soon they would be dead. Those listening hear him call out that he had been shot. The crime scene photos tell the end of the story. Two dead FBI agents with their faces blown away laying face down in the dirt. Facedown meant that they were touched and moved. Were the “brave warriors” that day counting coup?
(Fn. 2)

Thomas is kind to offer thoughts and prayers for the three, as there should be empathy for the Stuntz family. But what did he do that day? Through Peltier’s actions and foolish leadership Stuntz apparently believed it was acceptable to shoot at two FBI agents pinned down in an open field. Stuntz also felt it was right—and gave Peltier a smile, when he stole the FBI raid jacket from the trunk of the dead agent’s vehicle. Stuntz apparently believed it was meaningful to shoot at agents and officers who were responding to Jumping Bull; until an officer shot him. If there is remaining anger in the Stuntz family over his death it should be directed towards Peltier. Stuntz’s death lies squarely in the hands of Leonard Peltier. Stuntz followed Peltier to his own death.
(Fn. 3)

This is what has been expected from those who support Peltier, a continuing message with much obsession and lacking fundamental facts that perpetuate the decades old myth that Peltier was the last Indian standing to be prosecuted for the brutal murder of Agents’ Coler and Williams at Jumping Bull, and worse yet, that his actions that day, along with other American Indian Movement members, are somehow removed from the criminal acts and linked to a storied heritage that Peltier has hijacked and adulterated since June 26, 1975. It’s essential to the folklore scenario to keep supporters away from the facts and divert their attention to the notion that somehow Peltier represents and did this, for “his people.” Nonsense.

Those in the video (excluding the children*), along with the overwhelming number of those who support Peltier, can be divided into two distinct groups; 1) Those who do not know, and, 2) Those who do not care, about the facts.

Let us not forget as well that the vast majority of Native America does not support Peltier, his criminal actions, and those committed by AIM. They recognize that Peltier and AIM contributed nothing to the betterment of their society. Perpetuating the myth does a disservice to Native American culture and history; the AIM and Peltier legacies are a dark and disturbing chapter that is acknowledged and recognized by many.

A few questions need to be asked of those who support Peltier and appear in this video:

Was Peltier lawfully extradited from Canada?

The answer is yes. So says the Canadian government. “…I have concluded that Mr. Peltier was lawfully extradited to the United States.” (Fn. 4)

Did Peltier receive a fair trail?

Aside from receiving years of intense scrutiny that has upheld his conviction, the answer comes from someone who actually later wrote letters in support of Peltier. Judge Gerald Heaney (may he rest in peace), Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, three times (1984, 1986, 2002), denied Peltier’s appeals based on the facts and the law.

In his impassioned April 8, 1991 letter, Judge Heaney never suggested or implied that Peltier was innocent. To the contrary he stated “No new evidence has been called to my attention which would cause me to change the conclusion reached in that case…” and "…the record persuades me that more than one person was involved in the shooting of the FBI agents. Again, this fact is not a legal justification for Peltier's actions, but is a mitigating circumstance." (Fn. 5)

(Whom else Judge Heaney may have alluded to obviously and logically points to Dino Butler, Bob Robideau and other AIM members.)

Also, in the fatally flawed and factually inaccurate 1992, 60-Minutes segment, Steve Kroft asked if Peltier received a fair trial to which Judge Heaney replied, “I believe he got a fair trial. Not a perfect trial, but a fair trial.” (Fn. 6)

Kroft then followed with criticism about the Myrtle Poor Bear affidavits.

But the final word, and a vital piece of the Peltier saga occurred during Peltier’s own trial. When Peltier’s defense team believed the government could call Myrtle Poor Bear as a witness, Peltier’s own attorney stated on the record and characterized her as a “…witness whose mental imbalance is so gross as to render her testimony unbelievable.” Peltier wants to, but cannot have it both ways. He cannot use Poor Bear’s affidavits as the excuse for an alleged illegal extradition from Canada and then demean her and prevent testimony that would have supported his allegations of a wrongful extradition. (And, apologies to Thomas if Myrtle is a relative.) (Fn. 7)

Peltier’s factual guilt beyond a reasonable doubt has been well established (for those who take the time and effort to review and understand it), but it has been his public proclamations - which have all the weight of the testimony we never heard from him, that establish much more, his actual guilt to a moral certainty. A few examples:

Mr.X: If Peltier was innocent then why for the better part of twenty years did he (and Robideau and the LPDC and the LPDOC, etc.) claim that someone they all knew killed the agents and drove off in the infamous red pickup? Have all those in the video not heard the elaborate description in Redford’s, Incident at Oglala, where Peltier says “This story is true.” Well, it wasn’t, as has been proven time and again and even admitted as much by Dino Butler and one of Peltier’s own attorneys. So why the phony alibi? Why the elaborate hoax? Reason would dictate that a truly innocent person would be able to consistently repeat the same story. Peltier’s version has changed too many times.
(Fn. 8)

Looking back Peltier has no difficulty framing why he remains in prison. On February 6, 2010 he stated; “I never thought my commitment would mean sacrificing like this, but I was willing to do so nonetheless. And really, if necessary, I’d do it all over again, because it was the right thing to do.” In the context of this statement, referring as he did to Jumping Bull and Joe Stuntz, not excluding anything and making no exceptions, this is tantamount to a confession for the murders of Agents’ Coler and Williams. (Fn. 9)

On August 28, 2014 Peltier stated in a public message, “I don’t regret any of this for a minute.” Can this be made any clearer for those who proclaim, “I will,” and “We will?” How do those who look at Peltier as a victim justify a statement like that? For those who are thoroughly confused and buy into the fable of Peltier the warrior, then to some it’s justifiable to murder federal agents. There’s something to be said about that kind of mentality and none of it is good.  But here’s where the confusion lies, lost in the clatter surrounding Native American history they have picked a fraudulent symbol to correct any of those wrongs. (Fn. 10)

The “We will” video is all passion with no substance and ignores, deliberately to Peltier’s delight, the truth, because, facts matter. The smiling faces touting “I will” and “We will” are being scammed and they don’t even realize it. The truth they miss gets lost in the noise of the folklore, peddling to the softhearted with efforts to keep everyone’s eyes off Jumping Bull and June 26, 1975. Being “very sorry” is shallow and does not negate Peltier’s complicity.

As a minor point all have forgotten, here’s the reminder of Peltier’s disrespect and ingratitude to the political process when in 2000 he was not granted clemency, he stated, “These politicians are such sleazebags that you just don’t know.” (Fn. 11)

“Will we?” Yes, certainly as we have and will continue to do; ensure that the President, Attorney General and the USDOJ Pardon Attorney know what Peltier has said and that he remains a remorseless and unrepentant murderer who will continue his consecutive life sentences and the seven consecutive years for the armed escape from Lompoc. 
(Fn. 12)

Peltier should be afforded the same measure of mercy he gave Jack Coler and Ron Williams. And that would be none.

Here is the video that shows how the story should be told https://vimeo.com/74140239

“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods

(To all: Best for the holiday season to everyone and for a healthy and happy New Year.)

Footnotes:
3) Leonard Peltier: “I seen Joe when he pulled it out of the trunk and I looked at him when he put it on, and he gave me a smile.” Peter Matthiessen, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse (Penguin Books, 1992) 552
4) Canadian Minister of Justice letter: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/canadaletter.html
7) See court decision at II.B.2.i: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/585.html
11) Peltier calls President Clinton and politicians, sleazebags: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/speak.html
12) One of a number of letters regarding clemency and Peltier: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/obama.pdf
* Using children in such a way does them a disservice. Certainly, Native American children should be encouraged to embrace their proud and storied heritage and learn of the treatment their ancestors had to endure. They are too young, however, to understand the implications of their smiling endorsement of Peltier. The non-native adults are leading their children down a dangerous path by reinforcing - indoctrinating them without their full understanding - that killing law enforcement in the performance of their duties is something to celebrate. Shame on them for that.