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cherrie richard collazo
February 2009 
JUSTICE 4 PELTIER: A Documentary
Yvette
Recently, my friend Cherrie Richard Collazo of Gaia Global Marketing shared a documentary film treatment with me that warrents attention and discussion, but most importantly support for production. Because of this I wish to share excepts from it with you.
A Feature Length Documentary
It's easy to see that most Americans admire the idea of justice. After all, we make our kids pledge "…with liberty and justice for all" every day in school. Throw in equality and you've got three concepts that practically define our nation.
So what's going on with Leonard Peltier? Where are his liberty, justice and equality?
Leonard's a sixty-two year old Native American. He's been in maximum security prisons for thirty-one years. The reason? Two FBI agents died as a result of a fateful firefight on an Indian Reservation in June of 1975. Leonard was there. He's been convicted for alleged involvement in the agents' deaths. And he's been failed by the American Judicial system. Not just once, but over and over again. At least that's the hypothesis this documentary will seek to prove. Or if we're wrong, disprove.
There are a bunch of people who believe in Leonard's innocence so strongly that they've given up family, homes and jobs to fight for his freedom. But this isn't a film about them. There are high profile celebrities and world leaders like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and the entire Belgian Parliament who have made convincing and regular pleas for Leonard's freedom. This isn't a film about them either. Our film also isn't about Leonard's guilt or innocence. In fact, it's not even exactly about Leonard. It's about the American judicial system; whether or not it acted ethically, impartially and legally in the case of Leonard Peltier. And it's about why we should care.
There are reasons most of us haven't been paying attention to Leonard. His prison story isn't the breezy water cooler conversation of Britney's 5150 hold or Paris' 45 day sentence. And even if we don't personally salivate over People Magazine articles, there are other causes that seduce us away from our own backyard: Repression in Burma, persecution in Rwanda, torture and rape in Uzbekistan. And if it's all too much to handle, we can switch to finding humor in the last through our clueless movie icon, Borat. But what about our own government's missteps and abuses? If only we were as obsessed with our U.S. Court judges as we are with Simon Cowell, well, we might just have less of those missteps and abuses. Most of us have grown up being fed whatever the media put in front of us, no questions asked. And many of us know a guy who knows a guy who was audited by the IRS forty-nine years straight for asking a question they didn't like. It's a shame -- our country wasn't founded on human rights complacency and it certainly wasn't founded on fear of the IRS. (Wasn't' there something about a Boston Tea Party in history class?)
Okay, we aren't completely oblivious as a nation. We condemned the actions of our military at Abu Ghraib after seeing all those horrible pictures. But what about the wrong doings that aren't caught on camera? What about all those small breakdowns, intentional and unintentional, of our Judicial System? If they go unchecked and unchallenged, doesn't that leave the door open for our daughters, our brothers, maybe even ourselves to fall victim to an imperfect system which acts and reacts with no fear of reprisal?
We'd like to ignite some passion for justice again. And maybe stir up a little enthusiasm for liberty and equality too. No sensationalizing, no propagandizing, no soapboxes needed. The facts will speak for themselves.
Yes, Leonard is in prison for a conviction in the 1975 deaths of two FBI agents, but like almost everything about this case, the basis for his charges and conviction is also in dispute. Is he in prison for first degree murder or for aiding and abetting? Either way, he's been incarcerated now about twice as long as the law requires for the most severe version. The one area in this case that is undisputed is that the FBI and prosecutors behaved badly. They withheld evidence, fabricated testimony and presented conflicting arguments. Leonard maintains he's innocent of the charges against him and has done so consistently through times when a remorseful confession – even a fake one – might have gained him an early release, for which there are precedents in many less ambiguous cases. In fact, we came across unequivocal hands-on, first degree multiple murderers getting out in less time: Kenneth Allen McDuff received the death sentence in 1972 for a triple murder. He was paroled in 1989. Arthur Shawcross was convicted of strangling two kids. He was out in fifteen years. In 1973, Daniel Joe Hittle was found guilty of murdering his adoptive parents because their dog scratched his truck. He was paroled after 11 years. And Leonard, who has not been proven to have killed anyone? Well, he's still sits in prison after 31 years.
We're working under an agreement with Leonard and his defense committee, the LPDC. We have access to all their documents and to breaking news, both public and private. (Yes, there is still breaking news in the case). Leonard is up for parole for the second time at the end of 2008. A clemency petition was forwarded from President Clinton to President Bush, who will grant commutations before he leaves office in 2009. Our documentary can have a significant impact on these outcomes.
Through use of the latest forensic technology, extensive interviews and a compilation of compelling archival footage, we'll take on the judicial system through Leonard's story. We'll endeavor to answer objectively the myriad questions raised by the case, many of them a version of a recurrent theme: "How could a sane and just court have let this happen, reached that decision, or acted in that way?"
Based on Leonard's support roster, we'll also look to put together a powerful soundtrack for the movie. We're requesting musical contributions from Ben Harper, Stevie VanZandt, Rage Against the Machine, Stephen Earle, Rita Coolidge, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Jackson Browne, Mos Def, Willie Nelson, Indigo Girls, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Kris Kristofferson, Dead Prez, Robbie Robertson and Bono....
While America moved on with new interests since that devastating day on Pine Ridge, Leonard continued to fight the same seemingly endless legal battle. We discoed on roller blades, mimicked Farrah's hairstyle and poked fun at Billy Beer as Leonard fought his extradition, was tried and convicted, then sought a retrial. We moonwalked with Michael Jackson, lip synched to Madonna and learned who shot JR as Leonard fought on to win an appeal. And while Leonard was denied parole and his attorneys continued to fight to get access to FBI documents, America got absorbed with some other legal cases. We rallied behind or railed against Heidi Fleiss, the Hollywood Madam. Some say her jail sentence was unjust since her clients weren't prosecuted. And fifty-seven million of us were glued to the OJ Simpson trial. Of course, some say the system may have failed OJ in a different way. But those trials were a decade ago.
Let's get back to caring about the little guy whose plight could one day be close to home. Let's stop shrugging off as "just the way it is" our government's blunders and dubious motivations. Let's stop taking the media at face value. We may not have Judge Judy, but we do have a compelling opportunity to put our justice system on trial and see how it fares through the case of Leonard Peltier.
If you can assist in getting this film made please conact:R.J Joseph
Access: Public
