Biden Pardons Family, Commutes Activist's Life Sentence in Final Act
The Facts
In the last hours of his term, US Pres. Joe Biden commuted the life sentence of Leonard Peltier, an 80-year-old Indigenous activist convicted in the 1975 killings of FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams at Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
The commutation allows Peltier to serve the remainder of his sentence under home confinement at the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians reservation, following nearly 50 years of imprisonment and multiple failed attempts at parole.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Biden's last-minute clemency decisions were about safeguarding humanity and democracy. Leonard Peltier, after nearly 50 years behind bars, deserved to spend his final days at home due to his age and health. As for Biden's family, who faced politically motivated and evidence-lacking threats from Trump, the former president was forced to issue protective pardons for his kin amid a politically charged environment.
Republican narrative
Biden's final acts disgraced his presidency by not only showing leniency to Leonard Peltier, a twice-convicted murderer but by shielding the Trump-characterized "Biden Crime Family" from accountability. His preemptive pardons for family members and political allies reek of corruption, undermining justice and public trust. Some major crimes will go uninvestigated thanks to Biden's swipe of a pen.
Cynical narrative
What's gotten lost in the weeds of this debate is the backstory of Leonard Peltier. While politicians squabble over who's more corrupt, they're ignoring decades of corruption at the hands of both parties, leading to the 50-year imprisonment of a well-intentioned activist. Not only was Peltier's trial tainted by evidence suppression and witness tampering, but the FBI was the one violently trespassing on Indian land — resulting in an activist going to jail for protesting human rights violations.
