We are writing in regard to the FBI’s march in Washington, D.C., to oppose clemency for Leonard Peltier. True to form, the FBI continues to spread misinformation about Peltier’s case. Hopefully, President Clinton will not succumb to their desperate attempt to distort the truth.

Peltier never received a fair trial. The witnesses were intimidated and coerced by the FBI, false testimonies were used and a ballistics test reflecting his innocence was concealed from the defense.

U.S. Attorney Lynn Crooks now admits no one knows who killed the two agents. Judge Gerald Heaney, who authored the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals’ denial of a new trial, has himself written to express his full support for a grant of clemency. He condemned the FBI’s tactics in the overall investigation and trying of the case.

Furthermore, Heaney stated that favorable action by the president in this case would be an important step in the healing process between the United States and the Native American community.

It is a tragedy to imprison an individual for nearly 24 years who was so obviously never granted a fair trial. Peltier’s clemency supporters include the National Congress of American Indians, Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchu, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Dalai Lama, Robert Redford, the National Council of Churches, Amnesty International and many others. As president, it is Clinton’s duty to mitigate injustices. Granting clemency to Peltier is not only morally right, but necessary.

We encourage everyone who cares about human rights to contact Clinton and urge him to grant Peltier clemency.

Amy Browne

Andrew Buckley

Frankfort