THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 2, 1994 TAG: 9408020009
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
One of the liberal left's favorite conspiracy theories, that the FBI and the U.S. legal system conspired to frame American Indian leader Leonard Peltier for the murder of two FBI agents, is coming to its final chapter. Having failed to convince a court of law that Peltier was railroaded, they are now lobbying for a presidential pardon.
The theorists' case rests on the idea that the prosecution, along with the FBI, withheld exculpatory evidence, planted other evidence and coerced witnesses in order to gain Peltier's conviction. None of these theories have held up against scrutiny in a court of law, including the Supreme Court, which has twice denied appeals to hear the case.
Since his conviction in 1977, Leonard Peltier has become a cause celebre for the Hollywood left. Robert Redford made a documentary film proclaiming the FBI's anti-Indian animus; ``60 Minutes'' has also implied Peltier's innocence. During the Cold War, even Moscow got in on the act with a Red Square demonstration that laughably proclaimed Peltier a political prisoner.
On June 26, 1975, Peltier was driving a car on the Pine Ridge, S.D., Indian reservation when he was pulled over by two FBI agents who were searching for a wanted man. Peltier, according to the evidence introduced in court, was himself wanted and thought he was about to be arrested. He got out of the car with two other men and started shooting at the FBI agents. The two wounded agents were then killed execution-style at close range by Peltier.
Peltier fled to Canada before he was extradited for trial and found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to concurrent life sentences.
The more outrageous theories propose that the FBI was out to ``get'' Peltier because he was part of the paramilitary American Indian Movement, which ``threatened the white power structure,'' and thus planned the shootout as an excuse for clamping down on AIM activities.
Even though the theories have gotten wide play in the media, the courts have not been persuaded. Repeated appeals have gotten nowhere, and now 30 members of Congress have signed a petition supporting Peltier's request for a pardon.
The FBI and the families of the murdered men are outraged and are mounting a counterlobbying effort. President Clinton should stick with the fallen agents of the FBI and the U.S. court system, rather than the legal theories of Robert Redford. by CNB