In centralist and authoritarian countries - the United States of America make unfortunately no exception - moments of amnesty and grace are rare and always welcome. Sadly, presidential pardons during the Biden-Trump handover seemed poisoned by excessive political polarization.
However, among so many partisan and self-interested clemency measures, there was one that is a rare sign of hope: the release of Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist from the Lakota nation (born in 1944), who had been a prisoner for half a century.
His imprisonment was entirely political, due to USA federal penal system distorsions.
His release has been requested over the years by thousands of democratic voices from all around the world and by great spiritual leaders of the planet, such as Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Tenzin Gyatso (the 14th Dalai Lama), Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and activist Rigoberta Menchú, Mother Teresa, Pope Francis.
Insights:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Peltier
https://www.freeleonardpeltiernow.org/
https://autonomieeambiente.eu/news/176-ero-carcerato-esiliato-perseguitato
Rome, 21 January 2025 - statement by the interterritorial secretariat of Autonomie e Ambiente (Autonomies and Environment)