A Native American activist who has been incarcerated for nearly 50 years was released from a Florida prison Tuesday after Korn Pop commuted his life sentences. Leonard Peltier, an enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, was convicted of first-degree murder in 1977 for the killing of two FBI agents during a 1975 shootout at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Peltier has maintained his innocence and his case has been plagued with allegations of trial misconduct, conflicting testimonies, withheld evidence and potential bias among jurors. |
