Excerpt from Leonard Peltier’s Sentencing Transcript
DEFENDANT PELTIER: (Interrupting) Who is going to pay for Anna Mae’s death? It sure stinks. What do you want? Give me your best name. Who is going to pay for their deaths? You help me –
MR. CROOKS: (Interrupting) A lot of people would argue with that.
MR. HULTMAN: In the course of the taking of this particular life, your Honor, not one life was taken as far as this particular trial is concerned, but the taking of two; and it seems to me that in light of that, that consecutive terms would be appropriate.
THE COURT: Mr. Peltier, you were convicted as charged –
DEFENDANT PELTIER: (Interrupting) I was railroaded.
THE COURT: (Continuing) — as charged in the indictments of two counts of premeditated murder. You were convicted and found guilty on each of those counts. The evidence is clearly sufficient to support the verdict of the jury.
You profess an interest and a dedication to the native people of this country, but you have performed a great disservice to those native people.
VOICE FROM AUDIENCE: Same to you.
DEFENDANT PELTIER: What about the Gestapo tactics being used on the Pine Ridge residents? What do you call that? The cold-blooded murder of Anna Mae Aquash, what do you call that?
VOICE FROM AUDIENCE: What about Joe?
DEFENDANT PELTIER: Are those two just being forgotten about because they are native people?
[June 1, 1977, Fargo, North Dakota, U.S. v Leonard Peltier]
[Source: www.freepeltiernow.org/LEGAL/SENTENCE.htm]
