Former President Joe Biden set a record for the most pardons and sentence commutations in a single term. His acts of clemency will be remembered for another reason, of course. Not only did he pardon his son Hunter, other family members, and Anthony Fauci, Mark Milley, and the Jan. 6 Committee—he also commuted death sentences for most of those set for federal execution. And on his last day in office, he granted clemency to Leonard Peltier, who was convicted of killing two FBI agents in 1975, a move former FBI Director Christopher Wray warned him against.
While there was a decades-long campaign pushing for Peltier’s release, including among some three dozen Democratic members of Congress who argued he was wrongly convicted, Wray cautioned Biden in a Jan. 10 letter against doing so as it "would be shattering to the victims' loved ones and undermine the principles of justice and accountability that our government should represent."
"I hope these letters are unnecessary, and that you are not considering a pardon or commutation," Wray wrote. "But on behalf of the FBI family, and out of an abundance of caution, I want to make sure our position is clear: Peltier is a remorseless killer, who brutally murdered two of our own–Special Agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams. Granting Peltier any relief from his conviction or sentence is wholly unjustified and would be an affront to the rule of law."
On June 26, 1975, FBI Agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams were murdered by Leonard Peltier at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
In 1977, Peltier was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison. He has since made numerous appeals for parole or a commutation of his sentence.
"Over the last 45 years," said Director Wray in a letter opposing Peltier's 2024 parole request, "no fewer than 22 federal judges have evaluated the evidence and considered Peltier’s legal arguments. Each has reached the same conclusion: Peltier’s claims are meritless, and his convictions and sentence must stand." (FBI)
Biden didn’t listen to Wray’s “vehement and steadfast opposition to the commutation” of Peltier’s sentence, but instead moved forward with it to ensure "he serves the remainder of his sentence in home confinement." Peltier is now in his 80s.
Natalie Bara, president of the FBI Agents Association, blasted the 46th president’s decision.
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"This last-second, disgraceful act by then-President Biden, which does not change Peltier's guilt but does release him from prison, is cowardly and lacks accountability," she said in a statement. "It is a cruel betrayal to the families and colleagues of these fallen Agents and is a slap in the face of law enforcement."
