The legal setbacks have not stopped Peltier's supporters from trying however. At present, says Bachrach, Peltier's defense team is in the process of filing several cases challenging Peltier's conviction.
While they remain optimistic, Peltier's supporters concede that the best hope for Peltier's release may turn out to be executive clemency. But so far, that has proved to be as thorny a path as the appeals process.
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| President Bill Clinton |
In 2001, just before President Bill Clinton left office, hundreds of FBI agents, fearing that the outgoing president would grant clemency to Peltier, protested outside the White House. Clinton did not grant clemency to Peltier.
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| Rally protesting Peltier clemency |
"He succumbed to some sort of pressure," said Bachrach, who joined Peltier's defense team after Clinton declined to act on the petition. "From what I had heard, they were pretty much assured that it would happen But that clemency petition is still pending. It's never been denied, it's just never been acted upon."
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| Peltier in prison |
Though Bachrach acknowledges that the current administration has not demonstrated the same zeal for Native American issues that the Clinton Administration was credited with, and admits that it seems unlikely that President George W. Bush might grant clemency to Peltier, he is still not willing to stop hoping.
"Stranger things have happened," he said.
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