[Ppnews] Leonard Peltier moved to USP Canaan

[Political Prisoner News]

Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee

Jan. 14, 2009Leonard Peltier

Leonard has been moved to Canaan, Pennsylvania

Leonard was transferred on Jan. 13 to a high-security federal prison 
in Canann, Pennsylvania, northeast of his former facility in 
Lewisburg. Prison authorities have assured us that he will retain his 
phone and painting privileges and access to his diabetes medication, 
but we will keep you posted on the transition. Many thanks to all of 
you who wrote the BOP on his behalf. Please write to Leonard at his 
new address below.



Inmate Mail/Parcels



Do not send funds to this address; for more information go to the 
Inmate Money page. Use this address when sending correspondence and 
parcels to inmates confined at this facility.



Leonard Peltier

Inmate #89637-132

USP CANAAN

U.S. PENITENTIARY

P.O. BOX 300

WAYMART, PA 18472

****************************************************************

Urgent Alert--Sen. Dorgan Calls Peltier trial "fair and just"

Please write, call, or fax (Senators do not read email) Sen. Byron 
Dorgan (D-ND), who recently stated his belief that Leonard Peltier's 
trial was "fair and just." Dorgan is chairman of the Senate Committee 
on Indian Affairs, which is responsible for the funding and oversight 
of the BIA police force that terrorized the Pine Ridge reservation in 
the 1970s. Even if he does not support Leonard Peltier, Dorgan must 
acknowledge that the families of victims of federal violence such as 
Pedro Bissonette, Buddy Lamont, Sandra Wounded Foot, Frank 
Clearwater, and many others deserve the same recognition and respect 
as those of FBI agents Coler and Williams. Their deaths have gone not 
only for the most part unpunished, but also uninvestigated. History, 
as well as justice, demands a full congressional investigation of the 
events of 1973-1977 on Pine Ridge and beyond. Dorgan clearly has much 
to learn, and he should begin his education by asking the FBI why 
they are continuing to withhold documents and how they could have 
"misplaced" the Myrtle Poor Bear files, as they recently claimed in 
response to a Freedom of Information Act request. We must pressure 
Sen. Dorgan, as well as educate him.

As committee chairman, he will have to be more responsive to tribal 
demands, so tribal resolutions directed to both Dorgan and Obama are 
more important than ever. We will be drafting a model resolution 
soon, so please contact our office if you would like to work on 
presenting it to your tribal council. But please call or write Sen. 
Dorgan (form letter below for guidance) by next week and forward any 
responses you may receive.

For Freedom in 09,

LPDOC



Senator Byron Dorgan

Washington, DC



322 Hart Senate Office Bldg



Washington, DC 20510



Phone (202) 224-2551



Fax (202) 224-1193





Dear Senator Dorgan:



I was disappointed to learn that you consider the conviction and 
sentencing of indigenous activist Leonard Peltier to have been "fair 
and just." Amnesty International, which closely observed the 1977 
trial and subsequent hearings and appeals, came to quite the opposite 
conclusion. In calling for Leonard's "immediate and unconditional" 
release on Nov. 16, 2000, the human rights organization stated that 
it "has repeatedly voiced serious concerns over the fairness of the 
legal proceedings which led to Leonard Peltier's conviction and 
sentence, and believes that political factors may have influenced the 
way in which the case was conducted." Every federal appeals court 
which has reviewed the trial has found evidence of government 
misconduct in the case, even while denying Peltier a new trial. For 
instance, Appeals Court Judge Gerald Heaney, who rejected Peltier's 
motion for a new trial in 1986 on technical legal grounds, five years 
later wrote that "the United States government must share 
responsibility with the Native Americans for the June 26 firefight."



As Heaney also wrote, "We, as a nation, must treat Native Americans 
more fairly .Favorable action by the President in the Leonard Peltier 
case would be an important step in this regard." As chairman of the 
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, you are in a position to initiate 
this healing process. It must be remembered that agents Coler and 
Williams were far from the only victims of the conflict on Pine 
Ridge, in which the BIA and FBI were key players in propping up a 
corrupt dictatorship. You owe it to your constituents and to yourself 
to conduct a full-fledged investigation into the dozens of deaths on 
Pine Ridge in the 1970s. Such a process, perhaps along the lines of 
South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, will help heal 
the wounds of the forgotten victims of U.S.-backed death squads, as 
well as contribute to a fuller understanding of our shared history 
that will help prevent future conflicts.



Sincerely,



Your Name



Address



Phone





Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org  
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