Leonard Peltier attacked in prison
By
Caleb T. Maupin
Published Jan 29, 2009 9:45 PM
On Jan. 13, when Leonard Peltier arrived at Canaan Federal Prison in
Pennsylvania after being transferred from another facility in the state, he was
brutally assaulted by a group of inmates. A letter from Peltier’s sister,
Betty Peltier-Solano, says he suffered numerous head blows and “blood was
everywhere.” She also said one of his fingers has been broken. He has
been put in solitary confinement.
Peltier’s sister blames the FBI for this attack, as they have been
responsible for so many attacks against him, both political and physical.
Photo: whoisleonardpeltier.info
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Since 1975 Peltier, a leader of the American Indian Movement who courageously
battled the FBI in defense of his people and their sovereignty, has been in
federal prison for a crime it is widely believed he did not commit.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has worked long and hard to ensure that
Peltier remains behind bars. The FBI openly admits that it paid a woman who
testified against him in 2004 the sum of $42,000 “in compensation.”
When rumors circulated that President Bill Clinton was considering a pardon for
Peltier, the FBI staged a demonstration in front of the White House calling for
his continued imprisonment. In 1978, fellow political prisoner Standing Deer
came forward with the news that the FBI had approached him about assassinating
Peltier.
Peltier pointed out, “When we exposed the Government misconduct, the
Government stopped arguing that I ‘shot the agents,’ and began
arguing that my conviction should be upheld on aiding and abetting grounds,
even though the only two people I could have aided and abetted, Robert Robideau
and Dino Butler, were acquitted on self-defense grounds.”
(www.counterpunch.org, Jan. 29, 2007)
Call and request Leonard Peltier be treated with dignity and respect and let
prison officials know that the public will hold them accountable for his safety
and well-being. Peltier’s register (prison ID) number is 89637-132.
Contact: Warden Ronnie R. Holt, Warden, USP-Canaan, 3057 Easton Turnpike,
Waymart, PA 18472; phone: 570-488-8000; fax: 570-488-8130; e-mail:
caa/[email protected]. D. Scott Dodrill, Director, Northeast Regional
Office, Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2nd and Chestnut streets, 7th Floor,
Philadelphia, PA 19106; phone: 215-521-7301; e-mail:
nero/[email protected]. Harley G. Lappin, Director, Bureau of Prisons, U.S.
Department of Justice, 320 First Street NW, Rm. 654, Washington, DC 20534;
phone: 202-307-3250; fax: 202-514-6878.
Also ask President Obama to investigate this incident: The White House, 1600
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20500; comments: 202-456-1111; fax:
202-456-2461; e-mail: www.whitehouse.gov/contact.
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