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A Critical Time to Take Action for Leonard Peltier, Lori Berenson, BMD NoFlyby
June 26, 1975 was when the tragic shoot-out occurred, at the Jumping Bull Ranch, leaving three fallen that resulted from an FBI chase on the land of a sovereign nation for the theft of a pair of cowboy boots. This whole issue doesn't make any sense, except to respond to the threat of a disappearing democracy and US violations of basic human rights and decency for all relations. The following is a letter prepared by the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee to the new Chair of the Judiciary Committee of the US Senate, Judiciary Committee, the Honorable Patrick Leahy. Please copy into a letter and send to Senator Leahy with copies to Senator Schumer, Senator Grassley, the two senators of your state, and the representative of your district.
Item 2 gives relevant information on a new resource from the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee called "The Case of Leonard Peltier, Evidence and Documentation of a Wrongful Conviction.". This book contains the "statement of facts," written by Attorney Jennifer Harbury, with inserted references to key documents and the documents themselves. Especially due to the significance of June 26, please urge your elected Representatives to give a "top to bottom review" of the FBI and include Leonard Peltier, who was noted as a "human rights defender" by the United Nations.
When calling Congress, please also consider voicing your concerns about a policy of a Missile Defense that will likely not work, but would violate treaties and threaten peace on Earth with a new level to the arms race. This is the time of year that Congress makes decisions about how they will spend taxpayer dollars in the coming year. For mor information on this issue see www. Space4peace.org .
Issues of social justice, human rights and space for peace are related and sensible. Make use of your telephone call, and don't forget about the plight of Lori Berenson. Please lobby your Congressional Representative to sign on to the Maloney "Dear Colleague" letter on behalf of Lori Berenson and Justice. It is easy to send an E-mail letter to the to Peruvian President Valentú‹ Paniagua and the Ambassador, Carlos Alzamora at the following link: http://www.dfn.org/stand/peru/freelori.htm
Thanks to the Digital Freedom Network for setting up this email campaign.
1) Peltier/FBI Review Letter to The Honorable Patrick Leahy
2) "The Case of Leonard Peltier,
Evidence and Documentation of a Wrongful Conviction"
3) Help Keep NoFlyby Online at its original web address
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1) Peltier/FBI Review Letter to The Honorable Patrick Leahy
Date
The Honorable Patrick Leahy
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Leahy,
I want to begin this letter by thanking you for all of your fine work in support of civil rights and justice. Your courage and integrity are admired by many. I also want to congratulate you on your new position in the Judiciary Committee. I am very encouraged to see that you will be overseeing such an important government duty.
I am writing today to express my firm support for "top to bottom" investigations of the FBI as called for by both Senator Schumer and Senator Grassley. There is an obvious pattern of FBI misconduct involving the withholding of evidence and obstruction of justice which must be examined and halted. Such conduct puts in jeopardy our nation's concepts of democracy, open government, and equal justice.
I am especially concerned with the FBI's treatment of Leonard Peltier, the Native American rights activist who Amnesty International calls a "political prisoner" who should be "immediately and unconditionally released." Mr. Peltier has been imprisoned for over twenty-five years, following his highly controversial conviction of the 1975 murders of two FBI agents. During Mr. Peltier's trial, the FBI and U.S. Prosecutors emphatically swore that every FBI document had been handed over to the defense. Yet, years later a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit would force the release of over 12,000 FBI documents which had in fact been withheld. Had the jury been able to consider this evidence at trial, I have no doubt that Mr. Peltier would be free today.
Among the documents was a formerly concealed ballistic test, which proved that the fatal bullets could not have come from the gun tied to Mr. Peltier at trial. The exposure of the test prompted the U.S. Prosecutor to admit during subsequent oral arguments, "we can't prove who shot those agents". Yet, a new trial was denied on technical grounds, even though the court found that, "There is a possibility that the jury would have acquitted Leonard Peltier had the records and data improperly withheld from the defense been available to him in order to better exploit and reinforce the inconsistencies casting strong doubts upon the government's case." The judge who authored the denial now supports Mr. Peltier's release.
To make matters worse, the FBI continues to withhold over 6000 documents pertaining to the Peltier case today, come twenty-six years after the incident. We are convinced that these files contain even more critical information.
We also note that Mr. Peltier's conviction is deeply rooted in the Pine Ridge "Reign of Terror." During this period, the FBI cooperated with vigilantes who killed over 60 members and supporters of the American Indian Movement and terrorized, assaulted and battered scores of others.
Given all of the above, I am asking you to initiate a Senate investigation of the FBI, which will include a comprehensive examination of the Peltier case, including the subpoena of 6000 FBI documents still withheld today.
Thank you for your time and consideration to this matter.
Sincerely,
(name)
cc. Senator Grassley
Senator Schumer
Your Senators
Your Representative
* Congressional E-mail Listings:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/index.html
The telephone number for the Congressional Switchboard is (202)224-3121.
Your actions on June 26 would honor the three fallen on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1975, and help expose the illegal land transfer for uranium mining, and stop the abuses of power by the FBI and the threat to democracy and the continued unjust imprisonment of Leonard Peltier for more than 25 years!
If possible, attach the following documents to each of your letters:
(a) FOIA Status Report
http://www.freepeltier.org/foia_status_request.htm#top
(b) Special Prosecutors Conspire to Withhold Evidence -
http://www.freepeltier.org/peltier_trial2.htm#top
For more information see www.freepeltier.org
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2) "The Case of Leonard Peltier,
Evidence and Documentation of a Wrongful Conviction"
The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee has completed a new compilation of court records, testimony, affidavits, interviews, and FBI documents. The book contains the "statement of facts" written by Attorney Jennifer Harbury with inserted references to key documents, a table of contents describing each document and its relevance, and the documents themselves.
It is an improved and updated version of the LPDC's "FBI files." This book is enhanced with more documentation on the FBI's surveillance of AIM, excerpts from an interview with the Jury Foreman of the Butler Robideau trial, excerpts from an interview with a former GOON, affidavits and testimony from key people, reports from the US Civil Rights Commission, more court documentation, and updated letters of support.
The documents are presented with little commentary so that the reader can draw her or his own conclusion independently. Not only is this book a resource to educate ourselves, but those who may be more skeptical or cautious. This book will be useful in lobbying our Senators and Congress People.
How to order:
Specify "The Case of Leonard Peltier, Evidence and Documentation of a Wrongful Conviction" and send a check or money order for $20 (includes shipping & handling) to the LPDC, PO Box 583 Lawrence, KS 66044. (Bulk Order: Three or More $13 per book).
You can fill out an order form at:
http://www.freepeltier.org/order_form.htm#top
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3) Please Help Keep NoFlyby Online at its original address!
Would you care to pay $44.55 to keep NoFlyby online for another year at its original site address? http://www/nonviolence.org/noflyby
This could be important to maintain all the links going to the current noflyby address. Flyby News needs to pay $11 per month for hosting costs, and cannot afford carrying additional costs. We have posted a mirror site linked from flybynews.com . If you can help save the original, please send $44.55 to "Datarealm Internet Services" at the following address, reference it for "noflyby" hosted by nonviolence.org. The following is an invoice with payment information.
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