Leonard Peltier Statement on Political Murders of his Friends and Supporters

Excerpt from a Jan. 31 statement by imprisoned Native leader Leonard Peltier on his return to Lewisburg prison from Canaan, where he had been brutally beaten:

" ... Do I sound a little angry? Well, I am angry that many of my friends have died in assuring my survival while I’ve been in prison. All the men who were involved in my escape at Lompoc died mysteriously soon after: Dallas Thundershield at Lompoc, Bobby Garcia at Terre Haute, and Rocky Duenas, whose body was never recovered. Standing Deer gave away his life when he revealed the assassination plot against me. He lived under the shadow of death for years, waiting to be killed for defying the government, until he was eventually paroled to Texas. He was murdered soon after the same person who contracted him to have me assassinated warned him about his involvement with my campaign. ... "

Entire statement