Leonard Peltier (born September 12, 1944) is an American activist and member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) who was convicted and sentenced in 1977 to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment for the murder of two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents who were killed during a 1975 shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. There is considerable debate over Peltier’s guilt and the fairness of his trial. Some supporters and organizations consider him to be a political prisoner. Amnesty International has stated that "Although he has not been adopted as a prisoner of conscience, there is concern about the fairness of the proceedings leading to his conviction and it is believed that political factors may have influenced the way the case was prosecuted."^[1] Numerous lawsuits have been filed on his behalf but none have succeeded. Peltier was incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg in Pennsylvania until January, 2009, when he was moved to Canaan Federal Penitentiary in Waymart, Pennsylvania. He was sent back to Lewisburg after he was severely beaten by other inmates in Canaan.

Peltier's parole hearing was on July 28, 2009. The Parole Commission has 21 days to make a decision on the parole hearing examiner's recommendation