5,000 Petition Signatures Needed for Leonard Peltier to Get White House Review

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Granting Clemency

ALBUQUERQUE - The Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee announced Thursday night a petition in favor of granting clemency to Leonard Peltier is now on the "We the People" portion of the White House website.

"We have 30 days (until October 22) to get 5,000 signatures in order for our petition to be reviewed by the White House," reads a post on the Freedom Now for Leonard Peltier Facebook account. "Due to heavy site traffic, you may have trouble accessing the petition. Keep trying until you succeed," the post continues.

Peltier, tribal member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, is serving a life sentence in the US Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He was convicted of the 1975 murders of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation. He was convicted in 1977.

Peltier is considered to be a political prisoner of war by many American Indians throughout the United States and others worldwide. Through the years, Peltier's supporters have included the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and Bishop Desmond Tutu, among other prominent names.

The link to sign the petition is: www.whitehouse.gov »

posted September 23, 2011 7:57 am edt