Editing Leonard Peltier (section)

== Trial ==
[[File:Leonard Peltier FBI Poster.gif | thumb | right | 260px | FBI [[wanted poster]] for Leonard Peltier<ref>{{cite web |title=The Hunt for Leonard Peltier FBI Wanted Poster (Dec. 3, 1975) |date=January 26, 2012 |url=http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/peltier/peltierwanted.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603131355/http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/peltier/peltierwanted.html |archive-date=June 3, 2012}}</ref>]]

On December 22, 1975, Peltier was named to the [[FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, 1970s|FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives]] list.<ref>{{Cite web |title=335. Leonard Peltier |url=https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/topten-history/hires_images/FBI-335-LeonardPeltier.jpg/view |access-date=December 7, 2018 |website=Most Wanted}}</ref> On February 6, 1976, Peltier was arrested along with [[Frank Blackhorse]] by the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] in [[Hinton, Alberta|Hinton]], [[Alberta]], [[Canada]]<ref name="Indian Country News">{{cite web |url=http://www.indiancountrynews.com/index.php/investigations/286-aquash-peltier/aquash-peltier-timeline-1975-2010/31-annie-mae-timeline-iv-peltier-arrested-jane-doe-is-found-feb-24-1976 |title=Annie Mae Timeline IV – Peltier arrested: Jane Doe is found Feb. 24, 1976 |work=Indian Country News |date=April 6, 2007 |access-date=January 25, 2016 |archive-date=August 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805050344/https://www.indiancountrynews.com/index.php/investigations/286-aquash-peltier/aquash-peltier-timeline-1975-2010/31-annie-mae-timeline-iv-peltier-arrested-jane-doe-is-found-feb-24-1976 |url-status=dead}}</ref> at the Smallboy Camp, transported to [[Calgary]], [[Alberta]] and taken to the [[Oakalla Prison]] Farm in [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]].<ref name=":02" /><ref name="echoes">{{cite news |last1=Hume |first1=Mark |title=Ex-officer hears echoes of Peltier in B.C. case |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ex-officer-hears-echoes-of-peltier-in-bc-case/article1008114/ |work=The Globe and Mail |date=December 8, 2004 |language=en-CA}}</ref><ref name="The People's Path Home">{{cite web |url=http://www.yvwiiusdinvnohii.net/LeonardPeltier/PeltierChronology.htm |title=Chronology of Leonard Peltier "Birth, 1994 to Leavenworth, present" |work=The People's Path Home |year=1997 |access-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910233424/http://www.yvwiiusdinvnohii.net/LeonardPeltier/PeltierChronology.htm |archive-date=September 10, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ECODefenseRadio">{{cite web |url=http://www.ecodefenseradio.org/2015/02/03/2015-02-03-eco-defense-radio-news/ |title=2015-02-03 – Eco-Defense Radio News |work=ECO Defense Radio |date=February 3, 2015 |access-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-date=June 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190613062104/http://www.ecodefenseradio.org/2015/02/03/2015-02-03-eco-defense-radio-news/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In December 1976, Peltier was [[extradited]] from Canada based on documents submitted by the FBI. [[Warren Allmand]], Canada's [[Solicitor General of Canada|Solicitor General]] at the time, later stated that these documents contained false information.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 9, 2016 |title=Bellegarde apologizes to Anna Mae Aquash's daughter over statement about Leonard Peltier |work=[[Aboriginal Peoples Television Network]] |url=http://aptn.ca/news/2016/03/09/bellegarde-apologizes-to-anna-mae-aquashs-daughter-over-hurt-caused-by-peltier-statement/ |access-date=December 9, 2016 |archive-date=February 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211194848/https://www.aptn.ca/news/2016/03/09/bellegarde-apologizes-to-anna-mae-aquashs-daughter-over-hurt-caused-by-peltier-statement/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> (Blackhorse was also extradited to the United States, but charges against him related to the reservation shootout were dropped.)<ref name="Counter Current News">{{cite web |url=http://countercurrentnews.com/2014/07/statement-from-american-indian-activist-leonard-peltier-39-years-in-prison/ |title=The Leonard Peltier Case: An Argument in Support of Executive Clemency Based on Norms of International Human Rights |work=The University of Oklahoma School of Law |first=Joseph |last=Ezzo |access-date=January 25, 2016}}</ref> One of the documents relied on in Peltier's extradition was an [[affidavit]] signed by Myrtle Poor Bear, a Native American woman local to the area near Pine Ridge Reservation.<ref name="democracynow.org2">{{cite web |title=Leonard Peltier Speaks from Prison |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2000/6/12/leonard_peltier_speaks_from_prison |access-date=November 27, 2016 |publisher=Democracy Now!}}</ref> While Poor Bear stated that she was Peltier's girlfriend during that time and had watched the killings, Peltier and others at the scene said that Poor Bear did not know Peltier and was not present during the murders.<ref name="democracynow.org2" /> Poor Bear later admitted to lying to the FBI, but said the agents interviewing her had coerced her into making the claims.<ref name="democracynow.org2" /> When Poor Bear tried to testify against the FBI, the judge barred her testimony because of mental incompetence.<ref name="democracynow.org2" /> However, the Canadian government later reviewed the extradition and concluded it had been lawful since "the circumstantial evidence presented at the extradition hearing, taken alone, constituted sufficient evidence to justify Mr. Peltier's committal on two murder charges."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.noparolepeltier.com/canadaletter.html |title=A. Anne McLellan Letter Approving Canadian Extradition for Peltier |website=noparolepeltier.com}}</ref>

Peltier fought extradition to the United States. Robideau and Butler were acquitted on grounds of self-defense by a federal jury in [[Cedar Rapids, Iowa]] since the forensic evidence showed they had not been the ones to execute the agents and the government had no witnesses at the time who could prove they knew they were attacking FBI officers.<ref name="democracynow.org2" /> This was not the case in Peltier's trial, where the FBI had forensic evidence and eyewitnesses that together linked Peltier directly to the killings of the officers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/resmurs-case-reservation-murders |title=RESMURS Case (Reservation Murders) |website=Federal Bureau of Investigation}}</ref>

Peltier's trial was held in [[Fargo, North Dakota]], where a jury convicted him of the murders of Coler and Williams.<ref name="democracynow.org2" /> Unlike in the trial for Butler and Robideau, the FBI produced forensic evidence that the two FBI agents were killed by close-range shots to their heads, when they were already defenseless because of previous gunshot wounds.<ref name=":72">Peter Mattheissen, ''In the Spirit of Crazy Horse''</ref> Consequently, Peltier could not submit a self-defense testimony like the other activists had.<ref>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|294789062}} |title=Decision at Oglala |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=1993 |page=10}}</ref> The jury was also shown autopsy and crime scene photographs of the two agents, which had not been shown to the jury at Cedar Rapids.<ref name=":72" /> In April 1977, Peltier was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.<ref>Lappas, Thomas, and Gary L. Anderson. "Oglala, Incident At." ''Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice.'' Thousand Oaks, California, USA: Sage Publications, 2007. Web.</ref>

Some organizations have raised doubts about Peltier's guilt and the fairness of his trial, based on alleged inconsistencies in the FBI and prosecution's handling of the case. Two witnesses in the initial trial recanted their statements and stated they were made under duress at the hands of the FBI. At least one witness was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for testimony against Peltier.

During a June 8, 2024, interview by Native News Online, Peltier's serving attorney [[Kevin H. Sharp|Kevin Sharp]] – who has also served as U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Tennessee from 2011 to 2017, including as Chief Judge from 2014 to 2017 – stated the following:

{{blockquote|"Pine Ridge was a powder keg with the Goon Squad operating there with the government's help. AIM was there to protect those who were not part of the Goon Squad. There were many murders and assaults in a three-year timeframe. When plain-clothed agents in unmarked cars arrived, a firefight ensued. Leonard did not shoot the agents, and the FBI knew this but withheld evidence. The court of appeals acknowledged this but couldn't overturn the conviction due to legal standards. Judge Heaney, who wrote the opinion, later supported clemency for Leonard. Now, 38 of Judge Heaney's former clerks support parole for Leonard, including three who worked on his case. The government admits they don't know who killed the agents, but it wasn't Leonard. It's time to release Leonard and start the healing process."<ref>{{cite web |title=Q&A: Former Federal Judge Kevin Sharp on Leonard Peltier's June 10 Parole Hearing |url=https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/q-a-former-federal-judge-kevin-sharp-on-leonard-peltier-s-june-10-parole-hearing |website=Native News Online |access-date=July 3, 2024 |date=June 7, 2024}}</ref>}}

{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| image1 = Norman Patrick Brown FBI affidavit Leonard Peltier.jpg
| width1 = 120
| caption1 = [[FBI]] [[affidavit]] of Norman Patrick Brown
| image2 = Norman Patrick Brown Immunity from prosecution Order-Peltier case 1977.jpg
| width2 = 120
| caption2 = Order granting [[Immunity from prosecution (international law)|immunity from prosecution]] to Norman Patrick Brown, in exchange for his testimony in Leonard Peltier's criminal trial
}}

=== Alleged discrepancies in material evidence ===

FBI radio intercepts indicated that the two FBI agents Williams and Coler had entered the Pine Ridge Reservation in pursuit of a suspected thief in a red pickup truck. The FBI confirmed this claim the day after the shootout,<ref name="ReferenceA2">{{Cite web |title=As Clinton Contemplates Clemency for Leonard Peltier, a Debate Between the FBI and Defense Attorneys |publisher=[[Democracy Now!]] |date=December 11, 2000 |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2000/12/11/as_clinton_contemplates_clemency_for_leonard |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211233053/https://www.democracynow.org/2000/12/11/as_clinton_contemplates_clemency_for_leonard |archive-date=December 11, 2007}}</ref> but red pickup trucks near the reservation had been stopped for weeks, and Leonard Peltier did not drive a red pickup truck.<ref name="ReferenceA2" /> Evidence was given that Peltier was driving a [[Chevrolet Suburban]]; a large [[sport utility vehicle]] built on a pickup truck chassis, with an enclosed rear section.<ref name="ReferenceA2" /> Peltier's vehicle was orange with a white roof – not a red  open-bed pickup truck with no white paint.<ref name="ReferenceA2" />

At Peltier's trial, FBI agents changed their previous statements that they had been in search of a red pickup truck and instead said  they were looking for an orange and white van, similar to the one Peltier drove. This contradictory statement by the FBI was a highly contentious matter of evidence in the trials.<ref name="ReferenceA2" />

Though the FBI's investigation indicated that an [[AR-15]] was used to kill the agents, several different AR-15s were in the area at the time of the shootout. Also, no other cartridge cases or evidence about them was offered by the prosecutor's office, though other bullets were fired at the crime scene.<ref name="democracynow.org2" /><ref name="ReferenceA2" /> However, the appeals court confirmed his conviction in 1986, noting that even though later evidence suggested there were multiple AR-15s in the area, the government's expert witness had testified during the trial that he could not match 14 shell casings to the AR-15 that killed the agents.<ref name="noparolepeltier.com">{{Cite web |url=https://www.noparolepeltier.com/800.html |title=CIR8_Cases |website=noparolepeltier.com}}</ref> The appeals court stated further that the fact was ultimately irrelevant given these shells were ejected in locations such that "it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to have fired at Coler and Williams from these points," instead concluding that "it is more likely that these casings were ejected from an AR-15 in the firefight that occurred after Coler and Williams were killed and other agents had joined in the shooting."<ref name="noparolepeltier.com"/>

During the trial, all the bullets and bullet fragments found at the scene were provided as evidence and detailed by Cortland Cunningham, FBI firearms expert, in testimony (Ref ''US v. Leonard Peltier'', Vol 9). Years later, in 2004, a request under the [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] prompted another examination of the FBI ballistics report used to convict Peltier. An impartial expert evaluated the firing pin linked to the gun that shot Williams and Coler and concluded that some cartridge cases from the scene of the crime did not come from the rifle tied to Peltier.<ref name="ReferenceA2" /><ref>FOIA released documents, from International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, available at http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/LEGAL/FOIA.htm (accessed September 10, 2023).</ref> Again, the appeals court rejected the defense's argument, because the information included in the FOIA request "did not refer to the .223 casing found in the agents’ car, but to other casings found at the scene." The court concluded that given the immaterial nature of this new evidence, it was not probable that the jury would have reached a different verdict had that information been available.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.noparolepeltier.com/997.html |title=CIR8_Cases |website=noparolepeltier.com}}</ref>

=== 1979 prison escape ===
Peltier began serving his sentences in 1977. On July 20, 1979, he and two other inmates escaped from [[Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc]]. One inmate was shot dead by a guard outside the prison and another was captured 90 minutes later, approximately {{convert|1|mi}} away. Peltier remained at large until he was captured by a search party three days later near [[Santa Maria, California]], after a farmer alerted authorities that Peltier, armed with a [[Ruger Mini-14]] rifle, had consumed some of his crops and stolen his shoes, wallet, and pickup truck key. Peltier attempted to drive the truck away at high speed down the rough gravel road, resulting in a broken transmission, after which he again fled on foot. Peltier was later apprehended without incident. After a six-week trial held in Los Angeles before Judge [[Lawrence Tupper Lydick|Lawrence T. Lydick]], Peltier was convicted and sentenced to serve a five-year sentence for escape and a two-year sentence for a felon in possession of a firearm, in addition to his preexisting two life sentences.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ladd |first=Robert J. |date=June 1, 2016 |title=Leonard Peltier's Prison Escape |work=[[Society of Former Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation]] |url=http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.socxfbi.org/resource/resmgr/history_committee_articles/LeonardPeltierPrisonEscape.pdf |access-date=January 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109184222/http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.socxfbi.org/resource/resmgr/history_committee_articles/LeonardPeltierPrisonEscape.pdf |archive-date=January 9, 2017}}</ref>