Leonard Peltier Trial (1977)

Many people consider Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement leader convicted of murder in connection with the shooting deaths of two F.B. I. agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1975, to be America's foremost political prisoner. To many others, however, Peltier is nothing more than a brutal killer who deserves to spend the rest of his days at Fort Leavenworth. Under intense pressure from both groups in the closing days of his Administration, President Clinton disappointed Peltier's numerous supporters by refusing to issue an eleventh-hour pardon. This site explores the Peltier trial and controversy.