Leonard Peltier Prosecution: Case Brief

JUNE 26, 1975: Two special agents of the FBI, agents Jack R. Coler and
Ronald A. Williams, were wounded. One of them lay facedown on the ground.
The other was leaning against a car. The person responsible turned on him.
He begged for his life. The murderer shot him anyway. Gunshots followed
even afterwards. Time passed, and it was confirmed they were dead when
they were found. Leonard Peltier is guilty of voluntary manslaughter. He is
responsible for these deaths, and there is plenty of evidence to support this.
He should receive the maximum penalty, life in prison, for being responsible
for the lives of not just one but two people.
Theres plenty of evidence to support the fact that Leonard Peltier is
responsible for these deaths. One example is from Exhibit A, Fugitive Alert
for Leonard Peltier and Frank Black Horse. It states that Leonard Peltier is a
fugitive. And what exactly is a fugitive? A fugitive is someone who is running
from the law. Why would Peltier be running if he didnt commit the murders?
This document also says that there was a report saying that Leonard Peltier
might have died during or after the battle due to gunshot wounds, but the
report wasnt very accurate. Since, he was on court and on trial, how could
he possibly be dead? The person who gave this information clearly isnt
reliable. This document connects to Exhibit B, Ballistics Notes of the U.S.
Government, in that Exhibit B shows that Leonard Peltier bought a car under
the name of John Yellow Robe. Its likely that hell use it to escape the crime
scene, since most criminals use a means a transport such as cars to escape

from crime scenes. In addition, he disguised his name and there would be no
reason to do this if he wasnt guilty of something. Exhibit B also shows that a
fingerprint of Leonard Peltier was found at the crime scene and on a bag
containing a weapon. This shows that he had a weapon with him and he was
there at the crime scene, which proves that he killed the two agents because
why would he be hiding a weapon in a bag if he didnt need to use it? Why is
he carrying a weapon in the first place? These two exhibits clearly show that
Leonard Peltier is guilty of voluntary manslaughter.
Another piece of evidence would be Exhibit G1, titled Myrtle Poor
Bears Three Affidavits in the Peltier Case - Affidavit 1 (2/19/76). Affidavit
Myrtle Poor Bear, who was Leonard Peltiers former girlfriend, says that
Leonard Peltier always had a rifle and usually had a pistol near him. This
shows that Leonard Peltier is usually always armed, and this makes it highly
likely that he would be responsible for the deaths of the two agents. This
connects to Exhibit G2, titled Myrtle Poor Bears Three Affidavits in the
Peltier Case - Affidavit 2 (2/23/76), in that both are affidavits of Myrtle Poor
Bear and describes the same event happening. Exhibit G2 says that He said
he shot them and just kept pulling the trigger and couldnt stop. This shows
that Leonard Peltier told Myrtle Poor Bear that he shot the agents, which
proves that he committed the crimes. This shows that Leonard Peltier is
guilty of voluntary manslaughter.
The defense may say that Peltier clearly is not guilty of voluntary
manslaughter because both Exhibits G1 and G2 says that be planned on

killing the two agents. This clearly links to first degree murder, not voluntary
manslaughter. Also, Exhibit H, called A Time for Human Rights on Native
Ground, New York Times editorial by Louise Erdrich, December 29, 2000
and the Affidavit of Leonard Peltier both says that he wasnt given a fair trial.
Exhibit J, titled Excerpts of: Open Letter to President Barack Obama: Free
Leonard Peltier Now - November 19, 2011 By: Leonard Peltier Defense
Offense Committee further proves this point by saying that the government
hid evidence from the jury and the defense. This document uses words from
judges from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Tenth Circuit Court of
Appeals to say that The government withheld evidence. It intimidated
witnesses. These facts are not disputed. In addition, there were no
fingerprints on the weapon to show that he was the one who was
responsible. He may not have killed the agents at all. Each of these points
proves

that

Leonard

Peltier

is

not

guilty

of

committing

voluntary

manslaughter. However, there is plenty of evidence to counter these points.

For example, Myrtle Poor Bear says in Exhibit G2 that Leonard Peltier started
off planning and plotting on how to kill those from the FBI, U.S. Government
Police, etc., but then near the end she says that he lost his mind and just
started shooting at the agents. This means that Peltier killed them
intentionally, since he planned it out, yet when he got there he clearly didnt
have an intent to shoot them. This all fits into the category of voluntary
manslaughter. As for how Peltier wasnt given a fair trial, even if he was it
doesnt necessarily mean that hell be acquitted. This mostly depends on

how strong the lawyer is and how nicely the defense uses this information.
Also, this really doesnt help his case. The defense may say that the
government hid evidence from them so its possible that they may have hid
evidence that Leonard Peltier isnt responsible for voluntary manslaughter
from them, but they dont have much solid evidence to prove what the
government hid from them. Also, during his trial the government was
charging Peltier for first degree murder whereas the prosecution is charging
him for voluntary manslaughter, so the evidence the government hid will
most likely be about how Leonard Peltier isnt guilty for first degree murder
and not voluntary manslaughter. First degree murder is a more serious crime
than voluntary manslaughter. Next, there were no fingerprints on the
weapons but there were fingerprints in the car and at the crime scene.
Leonard Peltier could also possibly have been wearing gloves or something
to prevent his fingerprints from getting on the weapon.
In conclusion, Leonard Peltier is guilty of voluntary manslaughter. The
evidence from Exhibits A, B, G1, and G2 all proves this. Peltier took two men
from the FBI and their families. He brought pain and grief to those who know
agents Williams and Coler; in other words, he caused a reasonable person
to become emotionally or mentally disturbed. Thomas J. Harrison from
Exhibit I, called Statement Before the United States Parole Commission Re:
United States v. Leonard Peltier Speaker: Thomas J. Harrison, Executive
Assistant, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), couldnt have said it better:
We must never forget that Mr. Peltier callously and intentionally took the

lives of two young men, and took those men from their families and from the
FBI. No amount of prison time served can make these families or the law
enforcement community whole, particularly given Mr. Peltiers lack of
remorse and responsibility. The prosecution is therefore charging Leonard
Peltier with voluntary manslaughter and sentencing him life in prison.