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LPDC REBUTTAL TO NPPA

[note: scanned documents retrieved under the freedom of information act referred to below are online..
** indicates an insertion by me into the original text of the document ...Ish]
 

Leonard Peltier Defense CommitteeOfficial Response to the
"No Parole Peltier Association" Website:

It comes as no surprise that a new organization named the "No Parole Peltier
Association" or NPPA is in fact another guise for the FBI to continue their
campaign of disinformation against Leonard Peltier.  The NPPA consists of a
website sponsored by an FBI agent, asking people to sign a petition against
Leonard Peltier's parole release.  Once again the FBI are going beyond their
jurisdiction as law enforcement officials to defame Leonard Peltier, while
further misinforming the public about the case.  In doing this, the FBI is
further obstructing justice in the Peltier case and interfering in his right
to due process under the law.

The NPPA's position as to why they do not support Leonard Peltier's parole
release is unclear.  They make no mention of why Leonard Peltier should be
held in prison far longer than the laws and guidelines of the Parole
Commission require.  Most everything mentioned on their website is
irrelevant, and makes no case against Leonard Peltier's parole release.
Instead, they attack Leonard Peltier's character, Mr. X, and the trial of
Robert Robideau and Dino Butler.  To see the site for yourself go to:
www.noparolepeltier.com

However futile it may seem, we would like to respond to some of the
allegations made on the NPPA site because we feel it is important to
strongly reinstate our reasons for supporting Leonard Peltier's release.

CORRECTING WRONGS OF THE PAST
The "PURPOSE" section of the NPPA site contains a paragraph titled
"Correcting Wrongs of the Past."  It is here the NPPA implies that
supporters of Leonard Peltier are simply blinded by their sorrow for the US
government's brutal past with Native Americans.  They go as far as to say
"history cannot be altered.  Nothing can change the broken promises and
treaties and subjugation of the first peoples to inhabit this continent."

However, the Peltier case has long underlined the CURRENT attitudes and
continuing racism against Indigenous Peoples by the US government.  Leonard
Peltier was accused of killing two FBI agents during a time when the FBI
themselves were illegally seeking to destroy AIM.    In the years
surrounding the shoot-out over 60 members and supporters of the American
Indian Movement were murdered on Pine Ridge.  Despite an overwhelming FBI
presence, virtually no prosecutions were brought.  Former GOON leader, Duane
Brewer, has told us that the FBI helped to arm the GOONs and they
intentionally looked the other way when crimes against AIM members and
supporters were committed.  In short, the GOONs were given the green light
to murder and beat people with impunity.  Hardly is this ancient history and
surely the FBI should be held accountable for their participation in the
violence.  The double standard that allows an innocent man to pay for the
deaths of two FBI agents while the murders of AIM members and supporters are
given no priority whatsoever is what most of Leonard Peltier's supporters
find disturbing and unacceptable.

AGENTS SHOT IN SELF-DEFENSE
Secondly, the NPPA state throughout their web site that the agents only shot
5 times before they were killed, that there was no gun battle between the
Jumping Bull residents,  and that the agents merely shot in self defense.
They say that "agent Coler had fired one shot from a service revolver, one
shot from a 12-gauge shotgun and one shot from a .308 rifle . . .  Agent
Williams had fired two shots from his service revolver. . ."  However, there
is no evidence to support this contention and it contradicts the testimony
of all of those who were at the scene, including the testimony of Angie Long
Visitor, who said the agents repeatedly fired their guns.  It would be hard
to imagine agent Coler picking up three different guns, and firing each one
once within a ten minute period, as the NPPA claims.

Further, the NPPA claim that though Robideau and Butler were acquitted on
grounds of self-defense, it does not mean they were actually innocent.  The
LPDC, they say, fails to consider the "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt"
standard.  However, we contend that the NPPA fails to recognize the
"innocent until proven guilty" standard, meaning they cannot continue to
accuse Butler and Robideau of being guilty, and Leonard Peltier of aiding
and abetting them, when in fact no evidence of this exists.

[**COMPARISON OF THE TRIALS:   **]

Mr. X
They also question the morality and validity of Mr. X, the person who came
forward incognito, and admitted to shooting the agents at point blank range
in self-defense.  Mr. X has long been a controversial topic, by both
supporters of Leonard Peltier and those who oppose his release.  Whether we
agree with Mr. X's tactics or not is irrelevant.  The LPDC's arguments are
based on the legal record of the Peltier case.  If the FBI is so confidant
that Leonard Peltier is guilty, we must ask them why they felt it necessary
to obtain falsified affidavits from Myrtle Poor Bear, to withhold critical
ballistics evidence, to "develop evidence to lock Peltier into the case" and
why they now admit that they do not know who killed the agents.

[**POOR BEAR AFFIDAVITS: ONE, TWOTHREE, 2ND PART OF 3 **]

THE BALLISTICS
The NPPA attempts to minimalize the formerly withheld ballistic evidence,
which forced the government to admit that they did not know who shot the
agents.  In doing so, they point to the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals
decision which affirmed Peltier's conviction and stated: "When all is said
and done, however, a few simple but very important facts remain.  The casing
introduced into evidence in fact had been extracted from the Wichita AR-15.
This point was not disputed."  However, an extractor test is much less
conclusive than a firing pin test.  What the newly discovered documents
revealed was that the firing pin test was done, and in fact, THE CASING DID
NOT MATCH.  The jury was never allowed to hear this evidence.  Moreover, the
Eighth circuit said if the casing did not match, it would mean the FBI had
planted it.  In response to this they said,  "we recognize that there is
evidence in this record of improper conduct on the part of some FBI agents,
but we are reluctant to impute even further improprieties to them." They
concluded the following:

[**FIRING PIN TEST:  **]

There is a possibility that the jury would have acquitted
Leonard Peltier had the records and data improperly
withheld from the defense been available to him in
order to better exploit and reinforce the inconsistencies
casting strong doubts upon the  government's case.
Yet, we are bound by the Bagley test requiring that
we be convinced, from a review of the entire record, that
had the data and records withheld been made
available, the jury probably would have reached a different
result.  We have not been so convinced.

[**COURT CASE  **]

The judge who wrote the decision also admitted that he was uncomfortable
with it.  He would later write a letter recommending Peltier be released
through Executive Clemency saying that "the FBI used improper tactics in
securing Peltier's extradition from Canada and in otherwise investigating
and trying the Peltier case."  We would also like to point out that we find
the Bagley standard to be unjust, in that it requires the judge to replace
himself with a jury in deciding whether or not certain evidence would have
conclusively overturned a conviction.  If the new evidence forced the
prosecution to say they could not prove Leonard Peltier shot the agents,
then surely the jury would have concluded the same.

Lastly, the NPPA attempts to demoralize Leonard Peltier's character,
pointing to perceived flaws in his lifestyle.  However, Leonard Peltier is
not being held in prison for imperfections in his personality, and we do not
feel it is necessary to respond to such allegations.

In conclusion, we insist that the complete lack of evidence against Leonard
Peltier combined with his excellent conduct in prison and his continued
advocacy for human rights from behind bars, make him a perfect candidate for
parole.  We find that the FBI's continued attempts to obstruct justice in
the Peltier case in order to protect their own reputation to be a disgrace.
We urge those who view the site to express their concerns on its message
board.

Call the White House Comments Line Today
Demand Justice for Leonard Peltier! 202-456-1111

Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
PO Box 583
Lawrence, KS 66044
785-842-5774
www.freepeltier.org