Leonard Peltier Transferred to Temporary Facility in Oklahoma City

Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief in Native Challenges. Discussion »

OKLAHOMA CITY - Leonard Peltier has been moved from the US penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to a transfer facility in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

“Leonard has been transferred to temporary transfer facility Oklahoma City,”

Leonard Peltier - Lakota

Delaney Bruce, executive director of the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee, told Native News Network Tuesday morning. "Temporary can means months. We don't know where he will ultimately end up. We don't have a lot of definitive information yet."

When asked how Peltier is, Bruce said: "I talked to his attorney who was able to see him about a week ago and he was in good spirits. However, he is tired. This has been a long ordeal. He worries about where he will ultimately end up because so many factors play into his well being, such as access to health care, what legal district he will be in."

The exact timing of his transfer is not known because federal prisoners are moved under secrecy for security reasons. Yesterday was Peltier's 67th birthday. He has been incarcerated since 1976.

"We would like to see him in a medium security facility that is closer to his home, the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota. Prisoners are supposed to be place within 500 miles of their home, but that has never been the case with Leonard. It is expensive to visit for his family and they are aging, as well. So, we would love to see him closer to his Nation."

Peltier 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.

posted September 13, 2011 12:20 pm edt

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