By Brett R. Crossley
LEWISBURG — Protesters lined the southwest corner of Route 15 and William Penn Drive to fight for the release of Leonard Peltier as his second parole hearing was held Tuesday afternoon.
“The reason we are here is to bring attention to the illegal, immoral and unjust incarceration of Leonard Peltier that has been going on for 35 years,” said Dave Hill, organizer of the protest. “Today, there is a parole hearing, and he could be freed this time. We are here in solidarity with the people trying to free him, and we are here in solidarity with Leonard Peltier.”
Peltier, who is serving two life sentences for the deaths of two FBI agents during a 1975 standoff in South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, is being held in the Lewisburg Penitentiary. William Penn Drive leads to the institution in Kelly Township, Union County.
Bill Carter, a Washington, D.C.-based FBI spokesman, said: “Today was merely a hearing to review the parole request. The hearing was over at 1 p.m. Out of this hearing will come a recommendation that will be made before a full parole panel as to how to proceed. As I understand it, those recommendations will be made within 21 days.”
Because the hearing officials still are deliberating, Carter declined to say anything else. When the panel makes a recommendation, he said, the FBI will issue a statement.
Peltier’s attorney, Eric Seitz, agreed with the timing. He expects a decision from the U.S. Parole Commission within three weeks.
Peltier was convicted in Fargo, N.D., more than 30 years ago. He has claimed the FBI framed him, which the agency denies.
Peltier grew up on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota. Seitz said the tribe sent a representative to Tuesday’s parole hearing to outline arrangements the tribe has made to incorporate Peltier back into the community if he is paroled.
“We are trying to educate people,” Hill said. “If you don’t ask questions, you’ll never get answers. As we talk to the press, the news goes out, and people will start investigating.”
Peltier’s sister attended the rally to lend her voice to those seeking her brother’s release. “I am really confident they will do the right thing and obey their laws,” Betty Solano said. “I need my brother. I need him home. Enough is enough. He is an innocent man, and it has gone on long enough.”
Peltier’s only other shot at parole came when the Clinton administration was still in the White House. Rumors that Bill Clinton was going to grant him clemency led to a protest from the FBI.
“It would be my dream come true if he walked through the gates today,” Solano said. “It makes me proud and humble. I feel so proud of my brother that so many people care for him. All he wants to do is help his people.”
Solano lives in Fargo, N.D., and works as the coordinator for the Peltier defense committee. Despite being hundreds of miles away, Solano makes the long drive to see her brother a few times a month.
“We’ve been lucky to be able to see him a couple times a month,” she said. “When I lived in Washington state, it was tough to get here. We usually drive.”
Peltier was placed on the FBI’s 10 most-wanted list after the shootings. He was picked up in Canada and fought extradition to no avail. He was convicted and sentenced to serve two life terms.
“We have a stake in this because a man is in prison,” Hill said. “The government has lied, manufactured evidence, and even though this has been proved and recognized in court, they’ve done that and you don’t get a new trial? If you don’t get a retrial, then that jeopardizes the right to a fair trial for all people.”
John Trimbach, the son of an FBI agent who was at Pine Ridge, says Peltier should not be freed until he admits responsibility for what happened and shows remorse.
n With reporting by staff writer Rick Dandes. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
