UPDATE: On January 20, 2025, President Biden commuted the life sentence of Indigenous elder and activist Leonard Peltier.
Paul O’Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA, made the following statement:
“President Biden was right to commute the life sentence of Indigenous elder and activist Leonard Peltier given the serious human rights concerns about the fairness of his trial.
“Amnesty International has advocated for the U.S. government to grant Leonard Peltier clemency for years, following the leadership of Tribal Nations and Indigenous Peoples.”
Read more about Amnesty International’s campaign to free Leonard Peltier
Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist, has been imprisoned for nearly 50 years in the USA for a crime he maintains he did not commit. There are serious and ongoing concerns about the fairness of his trial and conviction. Tribal Nations, Nobel Peace Laureates, former FBI agents, numerous others, and even the former U.S. Attorney, James Reynolds, whose office handled the prosecution, have called for Leonard Peltier’s release.
Now 79 years old, he suffers from several chronic health ailments, including one that is potentially fatal. President Biden should grant him clemency and release him before it is too late.

Download AIUSA’s Urgent Action Toolkit
Action Toolkit
This toolkit provides you with a range of resources to support you in engaging in anything from a less time intensive action such as signing an online petition and retweeting, to a high-level action, where you step into a leadership role, implement offline activities, lead discussions, and participate in Leonard Peltier’s Birthday action led by AIUSA and NDN Collective.
The DC birthday action outside the White House on September 12, 2023 to Free Leonard Peltier would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of our partner NDN Collective.
We invite you to learn more about their work!

Each and every person in this country deserves a fair trial and rectification if the institutions meant to protect them do not do so. Leonard Peltier needs and deserves justice.