That's Quite Enough, Thanks: A Mild Rant

Clearly, there is a lot of disagreement as to whether or not Leonard Peltier is guilty of the crimes that have placed him in prison for the last 30 years. There are those who believe him to a murderer, and others who think he’s a political prisoner, a victim of the concept of “Aboriginal Sin”. Those supporting Peltier certainly have a case, since “the original prosecutor admitted in 1985 that the government does not know who killed the agents (Clark xx) Leonard Peltier remained in prison” (111). This makes sense, since Native Americans, like many other minorities, are disproportionately blamed for crimes they didn’t commit. Peltier wrote, “when you grow up Indian, you don’t have to become a criminal, you already are a criminal. You never know innocence” (113). It’s possible that Peltier is guilty, but even if he is, that doesn’t explain why he was prosecuted and no one was charged for the death of Joe Stuntz. It doesn’t explain why his request for a new trial based on new evidence was denied for being insufficient. There are so many arguments and so much controversy surrounding Peltier that at this point it would be difficult to decipher the possibility of his actual innocence.

But to be honest, I don’t care. I don’t care if he’s innocent, I don’t care if he’s guilty. In this context, it really doesn’t matter. This is not to say that the lives of those who died don’t matter, it’s not to say that there aren’t multiple tragedies at work here. The point is that regardless of what the truth of this particular case is, the argument remains the same. Maybe Peltier is guilty and should be in prison. I have no way of knowing. But I do know that even if this particular man isn’t a victim of the concept of “Aboriginal Sin”, others have been. Others are still falling victim to it today. This is just one example of an unfair legal system among many- too many. And I think there’s been enough.