Sinn Fein chairman hails release of man in USA convicted of killing two people and says he was a political prisoner

The South Antrim MLA was speaking about Leonard Peltier, a Native American man who was jailed for shooting dead two FBI agents.

Mr Peltier was released from jail by Joe Biden in the final hours before he left office, saying he is “80-years-old, suffers from severe health ailments, and has spent the majority of his life (nearly half a century) in prison”.

Mr Biden stated that he was commuting his sentence to one of “home confinement”, and that this did not amount to a pardon.

Sinn Fein’s Mr Kearney stated: “At 80 years of age, Leonard Peltier is one of the longest-serving political prisoners in the world having served nearly 50 years in US federal custody.

"Leonard's refusal to be criminalised for five decades is a testament to his unbreakable spirit and resilience.

"Despite being a victim of a great miscarriage of justice, Leonard's commuted sentence now allows him to serve the remainder of his sentence at home.

"This decision came as a result of lobbying by campaigners in the US and across the international community, including leaders like Nelson Mandela, over many decades. All of their efforts deserve to be recognised.

"The release of Leonard Peltier has mitigated a great injustice and a stain on the US judicial system."

Mr Peltier’s conviction relates to the killing of Special Agents Jack R. Coler (28) and Ronald A. Williams (27).

Accounts of what actually took place that day vary widely.

However, it is commonly understood the agents had been on Pine Ridge, a Native American reservation in South Dakota, looking for a petty crime suspect, when they began following a car with Mr Peltier and others aboard.

The car stopped and a confrontation broke out.

According to the FBI’s account (in a letter last year opposing his parole): “Peltier’s group fired more than a hundred rounds, compared to the five the two outnumbered agents were able to fire in return. After the onslaught, Peltier approached the wounded young men and brutally executed them at close range...

"The fatal shots were fired from a high-velocity, small-caliber firearm. Eyewitnesses placed the murder weapon in Peltier’s hands, and a .223-caliber cartridge retrieved from the trunk of one of the agent’s cars was later linked ballistically to Peltier’s AR-15.

“In the aftermath of the murders, Peltier engaged in a violent flight from justice. When Oregon State Police stopped Peltier and several associates near the Canadian border, Peltier’s group abandoned their vehicles and fled, turning to fire shots at police as they eluded arrest.

"The abandoned vehicles contained an arsenal of weapons, including firearms, dynamite, grenades, and other explosives. In a bag bearing Peltier’s thumbprint, officers found Special Agent Coler’s FBI service revolver – a trophy Peltier claimed from the murders and another critical piece of evidence proving Peltier’s guilt.”

In an interview with the US show 60 Minutes, Mr Peltier admitted shooting at the agents, but said he didn’t kill them.

"I never killed those agents," he said.

"Yes, I fired at them. Because they were firing at me. And I fired back. The only thing I’m guilty of is trying to help my people.”

Mr Peltier was part of a group called the American Indian Movement.

People have campaigned against his imprisonment for decades.

Upon his release, Paul O’Brien, executive director with Amnesty International USA, said: “Leonard Peltier’s release is the right thing to do given the serious and ongoing human rights concerns about the fairness of his trial, his nearly 50 years behind bars, his health and his age.

"While we welcome his release from prison, he should not be restricted to home confinement.”