Indigenous political prisoner Leonard Peltier had his life sentence commuted on Jan 20, 2025, after serving almost half a century in prison. Peltier will be released to home monitoring on February 18, 2025. An 80-year-old member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Peltier’s imprisonment has been at the center of controversy and advocacy by global human rights activists.
The clemency order was celebrated across Indian country and considered a victory by those who had long advocated for his release, including global human rights organizations like Amnesty International and the United Nations.
“It’s finally over – I’m going home,” Peltier said in a statement released by NDN Collective. “I want to show the world I’m a good person with a good heart. I want to help the people, just like my grandmother taught me.”
