The AP story by Carson Walker describing the transfer of Leonard Peltier to the Terre Haute federal prison stated that Amnesty International wants to see Mr. Peltier released. In fact, Amnesty International has declared Mr. Peltier to be a political prisoner.

I don’t know about you, but when we in the United States allow our officials to imprison someone because of political beliefs, then you and I have let our Constitution and Bill of Rights become meaningless pieces of paper and not a sacred agreement between we the people and our elected and appointed officials.

In 1976, I had never heard of Leonard Peltier nor gave very much attention to media coverage of the shoot out in which FBI agents Williams and Coler were killed. Shortly before the Peltier trial started in Fargo, some Indian women, with children in hand, knocked on our door asking for help to find housing in our neighborhood. It was a random event that led me to attend the trial. They were part of the Peltier legal defense team that was coming to Fargo to help defend Mr. Peltier.

I heard from those women accusations against the FBI, and the courts, that I simply could not believe at the time. I am someone who believes that the the right to a fair trial is deeply embedded in our freedoms, is guaranteed by our Constitution, and that our system of law should always pursue the truth. I felt an obligation to be a public spectator at the trial and to form my own conclusion. I was able to sit in the court room every day there were hearings in Fargo.

It took years of legal labor by the Peltier defense committee to uncover the evidence to convince Amnesty International that Leonard Peltier is a political prisoner. That evidence is contained in the FBI documents that have been forced into disclosure via the Freedom of Information Act. The best example of the many government lies that occurred in our court is the murder weapon alleged to have been used by Mr. Peltier.

That day in court is indelibly etched in my memory. Agent Evan Hodge testified that the AR 15 linked directly to Leonard Peltier was the exact weapon used to kill Agents Williams and Coler. However, there was something wrong about that man’s testimony. He was visibly nervous. As an FBI forensic expert, he undoubtedly provided expert testimony numerous times. He should have been impeccable in his composure and testimony. He simply was not. Shortly after leaving the witness stand, Prosecutor Lynn Crooks recalled Hodge back for rephrasing. That was the coverup designed to prevent future perjury charges.

That fact is that the so called murder weapon tested by Agent Hodge and the ballistic evidence did not match. That weapon alleged by the government used by Leonard Peltier did not kill the agents. This truth was discovered years later through the Freedom of Information Act. However, Mr. Crooks paraded that weapon all around the court room many times stating how Mr. Peltier at point blank range cold bloodedly killed the agents. That is another lie and it undoubtedly had an indelible impact on the jury.

Yet Leonard Peltier remains in prison because he is a political prisoner. He is in prison because the unwritten rule is that when a law man goes down, someone pays the price with prison or death. At the time of the trial, there were no other persons to charge with the killings. Thus, Mr. Peltier had to pay the price no matter what the cost has been to the integrity of our courts and the sacred honor of our Constitution.

Many years have passed and it is long past time to heal these wounds. Mr. Peltier must be released from prison. As for the individuals who perpetrated this injustice and created a political prisoner, they have to live with their own guilty consciences. I bear them no grudge. I simply want the honor of our Constitution, with the right to a fair trial, restored through the release of Leonard Peltier.