'I just wasn't going to give up': the fight to free the longest-serving political prisoner in the US
Leonard Peltier was imprisoned for 49 years before his sentence was commuted. A new Netflix documentary exposes the ‘corrupt’ system that allowed it to happen
TL;DR
- Leonard Peltier, an Indigenous activist, had his life sentence commuted by President Joe Biden with 14 minutes left in his term, after nearly 50 years of imprisonment.
- Peltier was convicted for the 1975 killings of two FBI agents during a shootout on the Pine Ridge reservation, but has always denied involvement and claims his trial was corrupt.
- The Netflix documentary 'Free Leonard Peltier' traces Indigenous activism, Peltier's childhood resistance to boarding schools, and the American Indian Movement's (AIM) efforts.
- The film suggests the 1975 shootout was related to land deals involving uranium deposits on tribal lands, and that the FBI escalated the violence.
- Numerous miscarriages of justice are detailed, including fabricated testimony for extradition, a separate trial from co-defendants acquitted of similar charges, and unreliable FBI evidence.
- Peltier refused plea deals, maintaining his innocence, and remained politically engaged throughout his incarceration.
- While his sentence was commuted, allowing him house arrest, Peltier continues to advocate for total freedom.
- The documentary argues that Peltier's case is emblematic of ongoing abuses against Native Americans by the US federal government.