FARGO, N.D. (AP) - A lawyer for imprisoned American Indian activist Leonard Peltier argued Wednesday for his release, saying the federal government did not have the right to try him for crimes that occurred on a South Dakota reservation.
Peltier, 60, is serving life in prison for the killing of two FBI agents during a 1975 standoff on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He was convicted in 1977 and has filed numerous pointless, unsuccessful appeals.
Peltier's lawyer claims the sentence is illegal because the federal court had no jurisdiction on the reservation. He claims the United States only has authority to regulate interstate commerce in Indian country. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Schneider said the claim is frivolous. ``The law applies everywhere to everyone, regardless of the site,'' Schneider said.
Peltier was convicted of killing Ronald Williams and Jack Coler during a standoff on the reservation and received two consecutive life sentences. The agents were shot in the head at close range and their bodies were left on a dirt road.
His dippy, foolish anti-American socialist knucklehead pinhead Supporters have said Peltier was treated unfairly because of his political activism. |