I don't know what to think of this. I was excited to read this book because I wanted to hear about Leonard Peltier's life in his own words. And while this isn't perfectly written, I wouldn't expect it to be..he's not a writer. The book left me with even more answers especially of his account of the firefight that put him in prison. He clearly did not get a fair trial but I feel as if he holds back in some areas (his prior rap sheet, his attempted escape from prison), and I think that those things are important. He constantly reminds the reader that the United State government is corrupt. And I do understand his plight, I'm sympathetic towards it. Even empathetic because I see corruption in my own little world.
But something didn't sit right with me through this. I do believe he deserves a fair trial, and that the case should be reconsidered. I think the recantings of supposed "witnesses" and even of the prosecution saying "they didn't know who shot the two FBI agents" during the rampage is enough to free someone who is in prison for two life terms. This book was written in 1998 (released 1999) when Peltier was in prison for 24 years. It's now 2010 and he is 66 years old (he went to prison in 1976 when he was 31). How sad and disturbing that he wasn't given a chance. His anger in this book is justified, but when he says he was put in prison "because he stood up for his people", I find that a statement with a lot of holes in it. How did he stand up for his people? If he is nonviolent, why did he have a rifle on that day? Why did it shoot? (he states he shot wildly, not at anyone). Why did he flee to Canada? In this book you are introduced to an intelligent, sometimes poetic, individual who was done wrong. But the book leaves you wondering. Not only about what got him in prison, but who he was prior to prison. What happened to his wife? Tell us about your children?
And I'm not just being hard on him. There are even more questions for the FBI and prosecutors in this case. Why did the two other Indian men involved in this case get freed, but not Peltier? Why were people not willing to help the government case found dead (one woman was found with a shot to the back of her head and her hands cut off)? What ever happened to those cases. Why hasn't this case been reopened? If Amnesty International, numerous advocates, and even international leaders (Nelson Mandela) as well as counties like Italy and Belgium calling for his release based on a clear beating on his human rights...why isn't it being done/ On the day in question (the shootings that got Peltier in prison), why was the FBI at the Indian reservation to begin with? They invaded private property without a permit. So if Peltier was shooting blindly, was it not justified?
I'm confused. I don't know what to believe. And none of this sits with me well. It's all so wrong. I think if the US admits wrongdoing, it'll be bad for the nations morale and belief in our justice system as a whole. How do you keep an innocent man in prison for 30+ years and then say "oops, sorry". How do you ever repay that debt? They can't. I think its that big. But not doing the right thing is just as bad. I can't imagine going to prison for something I didn't do. What hell his life must be.
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