2022-01-31 12:37:51

Leonard Peltier Has COVID; His Lawyer — an Ex-Federal Judge — Calls for Native Leader to Be Freed

Jailed 77-year-old Native American activist Leonard Peltier has tested positive for COVID-19 less than a week after describing his prison conditions as a “torture chamber.” Peltier was convicted of aiding and abetting the killing of two FBI agents during a shootout on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation in 1975 while a member of the American Indian Movement. He has long maintained his innocence and is considered by Amnesty International as a political prisoner.

Democracy Now! speaks with his lawyer and former federal judge Kevin Sharp, who says Peltier’s case was riddled with misconduct, including witness intimidation and withholding exculpatory evidence. Sharp argues Peltier’s health, age, and unfair trial make him the perfect candidate for executive clemency. “The legal remedies are no longer available,” says Sharp on Peltier’s case. “Now it’s time for the [Bureau of Prisons] and the president of the United States to fix this and send him home.”

 

Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. 

On DN!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.

Missed an episode?  Check out DN on FSTV VOD anytime or visit the show page for the latest clips.

#FreeSpeechTV is one of the last standing national, independent news networks committed to advancing progressive social change. 

#FSTV is available on Dish, DirectTV, AppleTV, Roku, Sling, and online at freespeech.org.

#democracynow 1975 American Indian Movement Amnesty International Amy Goodman COVID-19 FBI agents Juan Gonzalez Leonard Peltier Pine Ridge Reservation political prisoner South Dakota United States

Health

Democracy Now!

Family of Lashawn Thompson Demands Justice After He Was "Eaten Alive" by Insects in Atlanta Jail

Family of Lashawn Thompson Demands Justice After He Was "Eaten Alive" by Insects in Atlanta Jail

Mobilized

Freedom Farm Academy and Food Forest Abundance

Freedom Farm Academy and Food Forest Abundance

Democracy Now!

With Trump’s Arrest, Can We Now Prosecute “W?”

With Trump’s Arrest, Can We Now Prosecute “W?”

The Randi Rhodes' Show

Women Are in Jeopardy!

Women Are in Jeopardy!

This Week In White Supremacy- Presented by 1HoodMedia

This Week In White Supremacy | Elon’s Plan to Change “X”

This Week In White Supremacy | Elon’s Plan to Change “X”

Indian Country Today

ICT | Komi Memem River Gains Personhood, Canada Wildfires, and More!

ICT | Komi Memem River Gains Personhood, Canada Wildfires, and More!

The Rick Smith Show

The Rick Smith Show | Drew Barrymore Called Out For Scabbing

The Rick Smith Show | Drew Barrymore Called Out For Scabbing

Breakthrough News | 60 People Massacred in Goma, DRC

Breakthrough News | 60 People Massacred in Goma, DRC

Breakthrough News | Western Tactics Evolving in Haiti-- Occupation Imminent?

Breakthrough News | Western Tactics Evolving in Haiti-- Occupation Imminent?

The Stephanie Miller Show

Stephanie Miller Show | Donald Trump's Legal Tricks

Stephanie Miller Show | Donald Trump's Legal Tricks

This Week In White Supremacy- Presented by 1HoodMedia

This Week In White Supremacy | Elon’s Plan to Change “X”

This Week In White Supremacy | Elon’s Plan to Change “X”

The Thom Hartmann Program

The Thom Hartmann Program | Will There Be A Government Shutdown?

The Thom Hartmann Program | Will There Be A Government Shutdown?

Related

Democracy Now!

Georgia Grand Jury Charges Trump & 18 Co-Conspirators with Racketeering for 2020 Election Interference

Georgia Grand Jury Charges Trump & 18 Co-Conspirators with Racketeering for 2020 Election Interference

Democracy Now!

Why No Insurrection Charge? Ralph Nader on How Trump Could Still Be Reelected Unless DOJ Acts

Why No Insurrection Charge? Ralph Nader on How Trump Could Still Be Reelected Unless DOJ Acts

Democracy Now!

Remembering Juan Ramos, Puerto Rican Activist & Leader of Philadelphia Young Lords

Remembering Juan Ramos, Puerto Rican Activist & Leader of Philadelphia Young Lords

Democracy Now!

100 Years of Statelessness: Kurdish activist walks 300 miles from D.C. to U.N. to demand Kurdish rights

100 Years of Statelessness: Kurdish activist walks 300 miles from D.C. to U.N. to demand Kurdish rights

Proud Partners