Biden commutes the life sentence of Leonard Peltier, Native American activist imprisoned for nearly 50 years

Joe Biden, in one of his last acts as president on Monday, commuted the life sentence of Native American rights activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted of killing two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and escaping from federal prison.

Peltier “is now 80 years old, suffers from serious health ailments and has spent most of his life (nearly half a century) in prison. This commute will enable Mr. Peltier to spend his remaining days at home, but will not pardon him for his underlying crimes,” the White House said in a statement.

Imprisoned for nearly 50 years, Peliter has been in declining health in recent years due to diabetes, hypertension, partial blindness from a stroke and bouts of Covid.

The U.S. Parole Board in July rejected Peltier’s latest bid for release, leaving his fate in the hands of Biden. Peltier has long maintained his innocence, and his commutation is set to draw fierce opposition from members of law enforcement who argue that his two consecutive life sentences are precisely in the fatal 1975 shootings of FBI agents Jack Coler and Ron Williams in South Dakota.

Biden’s commute came minutes before President Donald Trump took office for a second term. Trump did not act on Peltier’s request for clemency during his first term, and other presidents, both Democrats and Republicans, had also declined to intervene.

In a statement, the attorney who advocated for Peltier’s parole praised the outgoing president.

“President Biden took a tremendous step toward healing and reconciliation with the Native American people of this country,” said the attorney, Kevin Sharp. “It took nearly 50 years to recognize the injustice of Leonard Peltier’s conviction and continued incarceration, but with the President’s act of clemency, Leonard can finally return to his reservation and live out his remaining days.”

Peltier told NBC News in 2022 that he was not interested in a presidential pardon because it would be granted for a crime he insists he is innocent of. Instead, he said, he would have the opportunity to get out of prison and get a new trial.

“I would love to go home,” Peltier said by telephone from the Federal Correctional Complex Coleman in Florida. “My family will take care of me. My tribe will take care of me.”

Over the decades, human rights and faith leaders, including Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama and Nobel Peace Prize recipients such as Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu have supported Peltier’s release.