President Biden on Monday commuted the life sentence of activist Leonard Peltier, who was controversially convicted of murdering two FBI agents, within the final hour of his presidency.
“The President is commuting the life sentence imposed on Leonard Peltier so that he serves the remainder of his sentence in home confinement. He is now 80 years old, suffers from severe health ailments, and has spent the majority of his life (nearly half a century) in prison,” the White House said in a statement.
The commutation is distinct from a pardon, and the White House’s statement treats Peltier as guilty of the crimes of which he was convicted.
Peltier, an activist affiliated with the American Indian Movement (AIM), was one of several people involved in a firefight in 1975 that killed FBI agents Ronald Arthur Williams and Jack Ross Coler on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation.
Peltier is the only person to be convicted in connection with their deaths. Two of his fellow activists were also charged in the murders but were acquitted on evidence Peltier’s defense was not allowed to present.
The trial and conviction have long been controversial and criticized as unfair by Peltier’s advocates. They have pointed to the admission by a key witness that she lied about both witnessing the murders and her own relationship to Peltier, as well as a juror who was seated despite admitting to prejudice against Native Americans.
Pope Francis, Amnesty International and the late Nelson Mandela have all called for Peltier’s release, as has one of the federal prosecutors in his trial.
Peltier has been repeatedly denied parole, including last year, which would likely have been his last chance to avoid dying in prison without presidential action. The FBI has continued to vocally advocate against his release or pardon, with FBI Director Christopher Wray calling him a “remorseless killer” during his most recent parole application.
