Zoom In: Focus on Executive Review

A new campaign sponsored by the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee (LP-DOC) with Friends of Peltier and the International Peltier Forum


The United States courts have acknowledged that Leonard Peltier was the victim of official misconduct and convicted on the basis of fabricated and suppressed evidence, as well as coerced testimony. However, the courts have not granted Leonard a new trial.

Attorney General Eric Holder can conduct an Executive Review of the Peltier case and provide a remedy. In fact, he has said that in the face of misconduct by Department of Justice officials, it's his job to do the right thing. That's why we've renewed the call for an Executive Review of the Peltier case.

Join us in our new campaign to demand equal justice for Leonard Peltier.

The Campaign

People often ask... "Who are those Peltier supporters, anyway?" We're all just ordinary folks from all around the world. We're a diverse group, representative of all races/ethnicities, religions, social classes, political beliefs, etc. Yet, we have at least one thing in common. We know a grave injustice has been done to Leonard Peltier.

The campaign concept is simple: (1) Send a message to AG Holder--We want justice... equal justice... and we want it NOW and (2) Put a face to the message.

The campaign has two components:

Action #1: Personal Response--Where you'll provide a photographic image of yourself holding a campaign sign, as well as your name, address and e-mail address.

Action #2: Community Response--Where you'll go out into your community and get others to participate in the campaign.

A box filled to the brim with campaign flyers, including all our faces, will be delivered to AG Holder's office on or around February 6, 2010 - the 34th anniversary of Leonard Peltier's arrest.

For details and instructions, see http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/.

We also ask that you contribute $1 to help us with expenses associated with the campaign. That's right--ONE U.S. dollar! You can, of course, donate more if you wish. Checks and money orders should be made out to "LPDOC". If you prefer, you may donate online at http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/.

Contrary to what some say, the Committee has limited resources and, like any other grassroots organization, struggles financially. Your dollars are needed to make this and other campaigns successful and so that more events--like those held in Boulder, Lewisburg, and Washington, DC, this year--can be planned and successfully implemented in the months ahead. Please give what you can.

Deadline

All photos should be received NO LATER THAN JANUARY 31, 2010 (but please don't wait until then to send us your photo).

Again, for instructions, see www.whoisleonardpeltier.info. Download the campaign kit and review all of the materials provided. The campaign e-mail address is zoom@whoisleonardpeltier.info. Don't hesitate to ask questions or request assistance.

Note to our local support group coordinators: Please let us know you're on board with this new campaign by sending an e-mail to zoom@whoisleonardpeltier.info. We'll work closely with you to help you succeed. To assist us with the planning of branch-specific special communications (which may be state, regional or international in scope) please provide your name and location in the body of your e-mail.

Thanks to all of you for the work you do. With your help, Leonard WILL see freedom soon.


Kari Ann Cowan, Assistant Coordinator
Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
www.whoisleonardpeltier.info

The Tragedy of Leonard Peltier vs. the US
by Peter Matthiessen
The New York Review of Books
Volume 56, Number 18 · November 19, 2009


On July 27, 2009, I drove west from New York to the old riverside town of Lewisburg in central Pennsylvania, the site of the federal penitentiary where early the next morning I would make an appeal to the parole board on behalf of the American Indian Movement (AIM) activist Leonard Peltier in his first parole hearing in fifteen years. On this soft summer evening, a quiet gathering of Peltier supporters from all over the country [shared] a makeshift picnic... [and] were optimistic about a favorable outcome. Surely a new era of justice for minorities and poor people had begun with the Obama administration, and anyway, wasn't Leonard's freedom all but assured by the Parole Act of 2005, which mandated release for inmates who had spent thirty or more years in prison? Read More: http://freepeltiernow.blogspot.com/2...

Circle for Clemency

What: Peaceful demonstration in support of Leonard Peltier’s freedom
When: 05 November 2009; 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Where: Washington, DC

President Obama will host his first annual White House Tribal Summit on 05 November 2009. The Nations will be given the opportunity to interact directly with the president and other top administration officials. All of the 564 federally recognized tribes are invited to send a representative. This is a prime opportunity to be seen and heard on the issue of Leonard Peltier’s wrongful conviction and imprisonment.

Peltier's brothers, sisters, friends, and other supporters will gather in Lafayette Park on Pennsylvania Avenue (across from the White House) at 6:00 a.m. Bring signs and banners, wear Peltier T-Shirts, etc. From Lafayette Park, supporters will walk to the Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW, where tribal leaders will assemble for their meeting with President Obama.

In support of this action, tribal members are asked to (1) urge your Tribal Chairpersons to speak to Obama on Mr. Peltier’s behalf - Free Peltier NOW; and (2) lobby your Tribal Councils to pass resolutions calling for freedom for Peltier, the release of all case-related documents still withheld by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a congressional hearing on the government’s role in the turmoil on Pine Ridge Reservation during the 1970s.

CONTACT: Rob at (919) 596-2100 or clemencynow@gmail.com