Adam C. Hasbargen, Open Letter to President Obama and the Parole Board Commissioners

If Leonard Peltier is guilty, then his time is served. This is based on the fact that at Leonard Peltier’s trial many things were withheld from evidence and thus were not taken into consideration in the sentencing.
On March 7th 1977 an order was given to prevent and silence all discussion on the following topics:

“All evidence concerning the FBI’s counter intelligence program.”
“Alleged attempts by the FBI to infiltrate by informant, or otherwise harass the American Indian Movement.”
“Alleged criminal misconduct on the part of the FBI in general, such as alleged burglaries, wiretaps, assaults, and the like.”
“An alleged climate of fear and tension on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation among Indian people in general at or about the time of the murders involved herein.”

Also not allowed into evidence was the fact that 3 other involved individuals were declared Not Guilty in the same situation as Leonard Peltier in a previous trial. 
This was in large part because all the above topics were allowed to be investigated in their trial and led to the Not Guilty verdict. This was not allowed in Leonard Peltier’s case.
Doubt is further exacerbated by the fact that Leonard Peltier was extradited from Canada for trial based on what was uncovered to be a falsified testimony that the FBI played a part in. This, however, was also deemed “inadmissible” due to the above order and was not allowed into evidence to unravel manipulation the FBI was clearly involved in.
I believe that the above indiscretions are sufficient cause to deeply question the validity and fairness of the sentence that was given. Given these facts, his time is served.
These facts may be a good reason why Amnesty International considers him a political prisoner. I implore you, however, to realize that the situation will not be resolved by his mere release. The next step is to release 11,000 documents that the FBI is currently refusing to show in regards to this case.  This must be done to fully understand why his trial was shaped in the manner outlined in this letter.
It must also be done to help heal the centuries-old wound that has festered between the American Government and the Native American Peoples. Perhaps then it can begin to close.
Thank you for your time,

Adam C. Hasbargen
Moorhead