Biden's decision to release Leonard Peltier from prison elicits praise, condemnation

Attorney General Marty Jackley and Sen. John Thune criticize Joe Biden's action, while Native American activists praise the commutation

Joe Biden’s decision to commute the prison sentence of convicted murderer Leonard Peltier as one of his last official actions as president was both celebrated and condemned Monday.

Biden released Peltier, 80, to home confinement. The American Indian Movement activist was convicted in 1977 for murdering two FBI agents, Ronald Williams and Jack Coller, on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1975. Following his conviction, he escaped from federal prison but was recaptured. Peltier is a member of the Chippewa Tribe in North Dakota.

For decades, largely left-wing groups attempted to get him released, calling him a “political prisoner” whose conviction was rooted in racism toward Native Americans. They alleged that prosecutors engaged in misconduct and doctored evidence to get a North Dakota jury to render a guilty verdict.

Biden commutes life sentence of Leonard Peltier, gunman who executed two FBI agents in South Dakota