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Anna
Mae Aquash: Jan 2005 article: Who killed Anna Mae? | John Graham Defence | Leonard Peltier |
John Graham
-
- Extradition challenged:
Misidentification evidence placed before judge
- Decision reserved
February 2, 2005
Dear friends and supporters,
John's defence attorneys submitted
their final arguments today, and Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth
Bennett announced she would deliver her final decision on Monday,
February 21.
In closing, John's attorney
Terry LaLiberte discussed two points: one, that the certified
evidence has been shown to be unreliable, and two, that the U.S.
has not established the identification of John Graham as the
perpetrator of the murder of Anna Mae Aquash.
Mr. LaLiberte said the certified
evidence of identification is "full of holes" in describing
the person the U.S. is looking for, and does not match the booking
sheet from John's arrest in Vancouver. The U.S. information as
certified by U.S. Attorney Robert Mandel, states that they are
looking for a Caucasian, 188cm tall, weighing 87 kg.
"They cannot get around
the fundamental fact," said LaLiberte, "that the guy
they want is six inches taller than Mr. Graham," said LaLiberte,
"and there is a problem with the weight and the racial description."
The U.S. claims John was also
known as John Boy Patton. "Also known by whom?" asked
LaLiberte. "We have requested that they clarify these points,
and they have not proffered that evidence."
Mr. LaLiberte stated that "there
is no link" between the witnesses' identification of a "John
Boy Patton" and the photos of John Graham. "This is
totally inadequate," said Mr. LaLiberte. "Witness John
Trudell claims a John Boy Patton shot Aquash, but identifies
Mr. Graham's photo as John Graham. There is nothing to link our
citizen in Canada to this person in South Dakota."
"They have not proven
the identity," said LaLiberte, "and that should be
the end of it."
John's co-counsel Gregory DelBigio,
also spoke to the issue of the photographs. He pointed out that
the certified summary of evidence attributes testimony to witnesses
"by saying, for example, the witness 'is able' to identify
a photo. They do not say that the witness actually identified
the photo." Mr. DelBigio pointed out that this is significant,
because it appears the U.S. Attorney is speaking on behalf of
witnesses by claiming they are able to provide evidence that
they have not actually provided. "It is not a concrete assertion,"
said Mr. DelBigio. "They do not even say the witness made
the testimony to the investigators, they only say the witness
is able to make the identification."
Mr. DelBigio argued that on
the critical point of identifying a suspect, "There should
be evidence that witnesses have positively identified the photo."
Mr. LaLiberte pointed out again
that U.S. Attorney Mandel certified evidence that does not exist.
He argued that the body of evidence is inadequate, since one
alleged witness, Al Gates, was dead for nine months when he was
certified as being "available to testify;" another
witness, Frank Dillon, has said he did not make the statements
attributed to him; and the only alleged eyewitness, Arlo Looking
Cloud, has stated he will not testify against Graham, as the
U.S. claims.
"We have provided cogent
evidence that he will not testify against Graham," said
LaLiberte. "His lawyer says he will not testify. And the
proof is in the pudding. In a recent Grand Jury investigation,
Mr. Looking Cloud did not testify against Mr. Graham, and even
refused immunity."
Mr. LaLiberte also stated that
evidence submitted is not attributed to anyone. "Some of
this appears to be speculation by Mr. Mandel," said Mr.
LaLiberte, referring to the U.S. Attorney who certified the evidence.
"We want to believe our
neighbour," said LaLiberte, referring to the U.S., "but
there is some threshold at which so many holes have been punched
in the certified evidence, that we can no longer presume it is
reliable."
Gregory DelBigio addressed
the impact of the erosion of evidence, the dead witness, recanted
testimony, and the failure to identify John Graham. He pointed
out that whenever John's attorneys demonstrated that evidence
was not available as originally claimed by the U.S., they respond
that they "did not rely on that piece of evidence."
Regarding witness Al Gates, who is dead, Mr. DelBigio said, "They
now say they don't rely on the Gates testimony." But he
said the court must consider the entire body of evidence together.
"The certification refers to the entire package of evidence,"
said Mr. DelBigio. "The Court can no longer be sure the
evidence is sufficient for committal."
Mr. DelBigio said the Court
has a duty to impose some minimum requirements on the quality
of evidence from the U.S. "This is not a rubber stamp or
meaningless ritual," he told Justice Bennett. "There
is some bare minimum of protection for a Canadian citizen."
Mr. LaLiberte agreed. "There
is no due process here," he said. "We've shown big
holes in the evidence. They say 'trust me, I'm an Attorney General.'
The certified evidence is totally inadequate. They are hiding
behind the law, making bold assertions that are not true. The
process is flawed. Who are these people - the Ecoffeys and Alonzos
and Graff - these people who are claiming witnesses are able
to testify to these things?"
"Whenever we show their
evidence is wrong," said Mr. LaLiberte, "they say it
doesn't matter. Well, it does matter."
Crown Attorney Deborah Strachan,
representing the U.S. said, "The extradition judge is not
to be concerned about reliability of evidence." She insisted
the Extradition Act requires the court to presume the evidence
supplied is accurate and presented in good faith. "Fairness
of the process is irrelevant," she told the court.
Justice Bennett recessed the
hearing, announcing that her final decision will be read at 9:00
a.m. on Monday, February 21. If she does commit John Graham for
extradition, he will appeal.
John's case is very similar
to the 2003 case of U.K. vs. Tarantino, in which the Court stayed
the proceedings due to the unreliability of the evidence supplied
by the U.K. As in John's case, a witnesses was shown to have
died, another witness had absconded, and a third witness was
shown to be unreliable. The Judge in that case ruled that although
our Extradition Act requires courts to trust the foreign state,
there is some minimum threshold of reliability that the Canadian
courts must uphold.
"The court has the power
to control its own process," the judge ruled. "It is
for the court to guard its own integrity." This certainly
would sound like the Court of a sovereign nation.
If the order to extradite is
issued, John's final appeal will be to the Minister of Justice,
Irwin Cotler, which will commence promptly.
We thank you once again from
deep within our hearts, for your interest and support of John
Graham in this struggle for truth and justice. We will keep you
informed as we prepare ourselves for the coming developments.
Most sincerely,
Matthew Lien
John Graham Defense Committee
info@grahamdefense.org
www.grahamdefense.org
Justice rules against
man wanted for AIM slaying
Associated Press, Jan. 11,
2005
VANCOUVER, British Columbia
- A Canadian judge dealt a setback Tuesday to a Canadian man
wanted in South Dakota for the 1975 killing of an American Indian
Movement activist.
John Graham is wanted for first-degree
murder in the killing of Anna Mae Pictou Aquash on the Pine Ridge
Indian Reservation. Her body was found Feb. 24, 1976.
Graham pleaded not guilty and
is fighting extradition.
Aquash's death came amid a
series of bloody clashes in the mid-1970s between federal agents
and Minneapolis based-AIM, which agitated for treaty rights and
self-determination for Indians.
Aquash, a member of Mi'kmaq
Tribe of Canada, was among the Indian militants who occupied
the village of Wounded Knee for 71 days in 1973.
Prosecutors say AIM leaders
ordered Aquash's killing because they suspected she was a government
informant. AIM leaders have denied that assertion.
Graham's lawyer, Terry La Liberte,
had applied to the Supreme Court of British Columbia to have
a photograph used to identify Graham and a synopsis of U.S. evidence
excluded from extradition proceedings in Vancouver. The lawyer
wanted to question the FBI as to where the photo had come from.
But on Tuesday, Justice Elizabeth
Bennett rejected those applications.
La Liberte said the fact U.S.
evidence against Graham, a Canadian, does not have to be proven
in a Canadian court is an indication Canada's Extradition Act
is unconstitutional.
Bennett rejected the request,
saying that Graham had no expectation of privacy in terms of
photographs taken of him. She also said police are entitled to
take pictures for identification purposes.
But La Liberte said only one
person in the United States identified Graham from the photo
in question: John Trudell, who was AIM chairman in the mid-1970s.
La Liberte questions the method
by which Trudell came to identify the photo.
"We don't know where it
comes from," he said. "If they can't prove his identity,
they can't (extradite) him. It's very important."
Bennett said the synopsis is
a summary of witness statements that was certified by U.S. agents.
"We have to assume when
they certify these things they're acting in good faith,"
La Liberte told The Associated Press outside court. "Based
on what I've seen in this case, the people who certified this
... are acting in bad faith."
And, he said, going to the
United States to talk to those witnesses is not an option.
"They don't want to talk
to us," he said. "They have adverse interests."
Also charged in the case was
Arlo Looking Cloud, who was convicted Feb. 6 and is serving a
life prison sentence in Colorado.
Looking Cloud told investigators
he helped drive Aquash from Denver to Rapid City and eventually
to the place where he said Graham shot her. He insisted he did
not know she was going to be killed.
Looking Cloud's lawyer asked
a federal appeals panel on Monday for a new trial. They said
the jury that convicted him based its decision on prejudicial,
irrelevant testimony and hearsay.
Graham was arrested in April
2003 but is on bail with strict conditions.
His extradition hearings continue
Jan. 25.
Leonard's Reaction to
Kamook and the Arlo Looking Cloud Trial
From: info@leonardpeltier.org,
Feb. 10, 2004
Hau Kola,
First of all, I want to thank
all those who have been standing up for the American Indian Movement
and myself. The Arlo Looking Cloud trial was nothing more than
an indirect presentation of another Myrtle Poorbear to discredit
AIM and myself, and to extradite John Graham. I am an innocent
man. The government knows that, and Kamook knows I am innocent
as well.
On a personal note, Kamook's
testimony was like being stabbed in the heart while simultaneously
being told your sister just died. I cannot convey enough, the
shock and hurt that I felt. Of all the fabrications that the
government has used to keep me imprisoned, this one hurt so deeply.
I would have laid down my life to defend Kamook and her people
and I did risk it several times. If there has ever been a time
during my 28 years in this hole that I have felt disheartened,
it is now. I loved Kamook as my own family. I can't believe the
$43,000 the FBI gave her was a determining factor for her to
perjure herself on the witness stand. There must have been some
extreme threat the FBI or their cronies put upon her.
If you want to know who is
responsible for Anna Mae's death, just look around and see who
else has been irresponsibly pointing fingers at proven warriors.
This kind of behavior is doing the dirty work of the F.B.I. and
the corporate entities that seek to control or own Native lands
and resources. All of those who took part in this abortion of
justice in Rapid City should be ashamed. I would say more, but
my emotions are overwhelming at the moment.
We as a people and a nation
need to honor those who sacrificed for the people and not forget
them as they become elders. In every generation we must stand
strong. The enemy has many masks and the ideologies that drive
it are centuries old now, the gluttonous appetite for money and
power of those addicted. I will not give up and it's not over
until it's over. Speak, organize, demonstrate, pray, help the
poor and oppressed, be a good example, and most of all "don't
ever give up!"
In The Spirit Of Crazy Horse,
Leonard Peltier
Mitakuye Oyasins
Four-day trial leaves
more questions than answers
February 9, 2004
VANCOUVER, British Columbia
The much-anticipated trial of Arlo Looking Cloud, a Native
American man charged with the murder of a Canadian aboriginal
woman, Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash, concluded Friday, February 6th,
with a verdict of "guilty".
The body of the native rights
activist and member of the American Indian Movement was found
on February 24, 1976, lying in a ravine in rural South Dakota.
It was first ruled to be death by exposure, and later determined
that she had suffered a bullet wound to the head.
The trial left more questions
than answers, and for some a sense of disbelief that such a historic
case could resolve so quickly.
"My concern with the trial
is that it covers a murder which happened 28 years ago, and only
required three days of testimony," said Bob Newbrook, a
retired police officer who was involved with the arrest of Leonard
Peltier. "If we thought the court would be a crucible for
truth, we were very much mistaken."
"It was a typical South
Dakota kangaroo court," said John Graham, the co-accused
in this case. Graham has always maintained his innocence. He
is living in Vancouver under house arrest, fighting extradition
to the U.S. "What happened to Arlo proves there is no chance
of a fair trial in the U.S."
Looking Cloud's public defense
attorney, Tim Rensch, called only one witness during the trial
- FBI Special Agent David Price - who he questioned for a mere
ten minutes to counter the Prosecution's 23 witnesses.
While Looking Cloud entered
a plea of "not guilty", his Defense chose not to challenge
the validity of Looking Clouds alleged confessions, which witnesses
recounted with frequent contradictions. The Defense asserted
that while he admitted to being present at the crime scene, he
was unaware that Anna Mae would be murdered and was therefore
not responsible for her death.
"I was approached by Vernon
Bellecourt and Arlo Looking Cloud's family to get into this case,"
said well-known attorney Terry Gilbert of the Centre for Constitutional
Rights in New York. "They were unhappy with the local lawyer
for a number of reasons, principally because he admitted that
his client was present when Anna Mae's murder took place, and
told the press this.
"There were few motions
and no competency motion," observed Gilbert. "Looking
Cloud was a homeless alcoholic for more than 20 years and vulnerable
to manipulation by the detective in Denver who was trying to
make this case. I wrote Judge Pearsoll and offered to be appointed
as co-counsel. He refused."
Looking Cloud did not take
the stand at any time during the trial. A videotaped confession
was played, during which Looking Cloud admitted to being under
the influence of alcohol.
An FBI agent who was among
the first at the crime scene testified that the body was found
clothed in moccasins and a dress. This caused the Prosecution
to interject, reminding their own witness that the body was found
wearing blue jeans. The agent said he must have been mistaken.
Of the 23 witnesses called
by the Prosecution, most simply recounted contradictory versions
of Looking Cloud's alleged confessions.
One recounting described Arlo
driving to the scene of the crime but staying in the car, while
another described Arlo walking to where Anna Mae was allegedly
shot. Other versions described Anna Mae as being tied up, while
videotaped testimony showed Arlo flatly denying she had been
tied up at all.
Anna Mae's eldest daughter,
Denise Maloney, testified that in April 2002, she had received
a phone call from Richard Two Elk who was the first person to
claim hearing Looking Cloud's confession. Two Elk presented himself
as Looking Cloud's brother. Paul DeMain, a journalist, allegedly
vouched for Two Elk and convinced Maloney to hear Looking Cloud's
confession, who was then put in the phone.
The Looking Cloud trial revealed,
however, that Two Elk was not Arlo's brother. Two Elk's inconsistent
and hostile testimony appeared to bring little value to the Prosecution's
case, and at times inspired outright laughter from the gallery.
Another highly anticipated
witness was Kamook Banks, the ex-wife of prominent American Indian
Movement (AIM) activist Dennis Banks. Her testimony was barely
relevant to Arlo Looking Cloud, instead condemning Leonard Peltier
for allegedly bragging that he had killed two FBI agents during
an earlier conflict between the FBI and members of the American
Indian Movement.
The Prosecution asserted her
testimony was required to demonstrate the knowledge Anna Mae
possessed about the AIM leadership, thus showing motive for their
ordering her execution.
Upon cross examination, however,
it was revealed that Kamook Banks had received $42,000.00 (USD)
from the FBI to assist in building their case.
In a news release on February
7th, 2004, Barry Bachrach, the attorney representing Leonard
Peltier asked, "Who was on trial? The majority of the testimony
presented had nothing whatsoever to do with Arlo Looking Cloud,
but prominent members of the American Indian Movement.
"There was not one iota
of proof presented to support many witnesses' 'beliefs'. And
for every witness presented, there are any number of other individuals
who could be called to appear and who would tell very different
stories," he stated.
"The public didn't hear
about the shoddy investigation the FBI conducted into the death
of Anna Mae Aquash, either. It took them 28 years to bring someone
- anyone - to trial? The FBI is better than that. Everybody knows
it."
The trial did serve as evidence
to John Graham and his supporters that the FBI is continuing
its campaign to brutalize and incarcerate members of the American
Indian Movement, perhaps in an effort to cover up their own complicity
in crimes of the past.
"I feel now, more than
ever, that John must not be extradited," said Jennifer Wade,
a well-known human rights advocate and founding member of BC's
Amnesty International. "This feeling is based on all that
has gone on in the Dakotas, with respect to the Leonard Peltier
trial, and now the trial of Arlo Looking Cloud which shows that
a conviction can be achieved on unreliable hearsay with so many
discrepancies."
In light of the Looking Cloud
trial, the John Graham Defense Committee and the Friends of John
Graham are jointly calling upon Canada's Minister of Justice
Irwin Cotler to stop extradition procedures against John Graham.
They are also calling for a
complete and independent investigation into the FBI's involvement
in the death of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash, and the scores of malicious
deaths in and around the Pine Ridge Reservation which remain
uninvestigated.
- 30 -
- For more information contact:
- Matthew Lien, John Graham
Defense Committee (867) 633-3513 info@grahamdefense.org www.grahamdefense.org
- Joni Miller, Friends of
John Graham johngraham@shaw.ca
- www.members.shaw.ca/johngraham
The 4-Day Trial
of Arlo Looking Cloud
Note from the John Graham Defense
Committee: The following is documentation and observations from
the four-day trial of Arlo Looking Cloud. Most of the information
has been provided by an independent journalist present at the
trial, documenting testimony and providing some insight in the
precedings. While the testimony has not been taken from the official
transcripts (we have not yet received them), we believe it to
be an accurate accounting of the trial.
Day 1
Jury Selection
After jury selection, Defense
and Prosecution gave opening statements, both of them essentially
agreeing Arlo Looking Cloud was there at the crime scene; and
then the State called Roger Amiotte and showed grisly photographs
of the unidentifiable body, blackened skin, maybe -hard to tell
much. Hard to know if they are the authentic photographs, for
that matter.
Nathan Merritt was called,
a former BIA criminal investigator, who explained that the body's
hands were too far decomposed to get fingerprints so they had
to be cut off and sent to the Lab in Washington DC. He also said
at the initial "examination" at the IHS hospital in
Pine Ridge, that no x-rays were taken of the body -despite
the fact that Johanna Brand and Kevin McKiernan in their 1978
book, 'The Life and Death of Anna Mae Aquash," said dental
x-rays were taken, as did Ward Churchill in a 1986 "Z Magazine"
article, going so far as to expostulate such a dental x-ray would
have found a bullet in the cranium, saying, "I was told
the machine was broken."
Day 2 - Morning
PRELIMINARY NOTES:
Arlo Looking Cloud was in good
spirits with a lot of supporters sitting right behind him, the
Bellecourts and Bill Means included, helping his grandmother
and kids around. Arlo's out of the black-and-whites they paraded him
in yesterday -especially for the local media. He looks good
and calm, in civilian clothes with a clean braid down his back.
Four FBI Agents were
called this morning, as well as Pathologist Peterson, and then
Kamook Banks {Darlene Nichols}:
Rensch pointedly asked
Special Agent (SA) William Wood if he knew David Hill was an
informant. Wood said no. But Kamook repeatedly brought up his
name in her long narrative, with lots more to go this afternoon,
including the explosive statement that actually brought a rare
gasp from the large audience, when she said Dennis Banks and
David Hill forced Annie Mae to make bombs "so she'd have
her fingerprints on them." Kamook claimed to have personally
witnessed them take Anna Mae into a back room and forced her
to make the bombs. They were trying to frame her, "bad-jacket"
her, according to Kamook. Kamook also presented damning hearsay
statements -vociferously objected to many times by Rensch and
usually overruled by the Judge Piersoll -that Leonard put a gun
to Anna Mae's head in Farmington in the spring of 1975, and had
allegedly bragged in Oregon that he'd killed the FBI Agents at
Oglala.
The FBI witnesses contradicted
themselves all over the place. The first one on the scene at
Wanblee said the body was "unidentifiable, black, and badly
decomposed," and that he remembered she was wearing "moccasins
and a dress." The State jumped up quickly at that, reminding
him that she was wearing blue jeans and pants, as has always
been reported. They showed him Document 302s and he had to admit,
well, yes, "I guess I was mistaken." Rensch then produced
another "302" with an even different description of
her clothes. The Lab Technician read an original report stating
that the name of the deceased at Wanblee was Donna Kiblee (or
something like that) -not even close to "Aquash". No
dental x-rays of the first autopsy were apparently taken, as
Johanna Brand and Ward Churchill have reported over the years.
SA Wood appeared to
lie when he said he was the one who wanted to exhume the body
because he "thought it was suspicious", when a minute
later Rensch clarified that it was Judge Bogue who ordered the
exhumation.
Rensch, "Did Bruce Ellison
ask for the exhumation first?"
"No!" Wood
fired back almost angrily. "We did. Judge Bogue ordered
that exhumation."
Rensch to Peterson,
the second autopsist, "The first autopsy report says Dr.
Brown weighed her kidneys. Can you weigh kidneys without taking
them out of the body?"
"No," the
pathologist almost laughed. "The body I examined had not
had her kidneys removed at all."
Rensch, "And Dr.
Brown did no x-rays in the first autopsy?"
"No."
They also brought out
retired FBI lab specialist Evan Hodge. He said there was no way
the .32 bullet he saw could be traced to any gun. In sum, the
State did not seem to have any evidence at all.
Then Kamook Banks took the
stand.
Day 2 - Afternoon
Kamook continued with
the explosive descriptions of Dennis Banks and Leonard Peltier
putting guns to Anna Mae's head, and recited what Peltier allegedly
said about the FBI agents at Oglala, "He said, 'That motherfucker
was begging for his life, but I shot him anyway.'" Rensch
then discredited Kamook's testimony somewhat, getting her to
admit that she'd taken a total of $42,000.00 from the US Government
over the past several years, for her testimony and to wear a
wire to record Banks several times. It was all very damning,
portraying AIM as a bunch of crazed Indian killers, and the government
as the good guys. But all this had very little or nothing
to do with Arlo and John. Kamook's testimony stopped in November
1975, the last time she saw Anna Mae.
Rensch: "Did you
witness crimes being committed in 1975?" (referring to the
infamous 4 Bombs that went off in October, connected to David
Hill, Dennis Banks and Anna Mae, as mentioned above)?
Kamook: "Yes."
Kamook was essentially
being discredited to the jury as a violent accomplice to crimes
herself. She also said Dennis Banks called her on February 24,1976
to tell her that Anna Mae had been killed - the day the "Jane
Doe" body was found and before it was announced, apparently
proving that Dennis knew Anna Mae was dead and that she was going
to be found.
Leonard Crow Dog was
allegedly also calling Anna Mae a "Fed" in July 1975.
If this is true, it may be because Anna Mae had confronted Crow
Dog at his Sundance for drinking, so he denounced her.
Incredible contradictory
testimony was presented by Troy Lynn Yellow Wood. First, she
told McMahan that, yes, Arlo had told her he walked up onto the
hill with John, and that John killed Annie. Then upon cross examination
she tells Rensch that, no, she never talked to Arlo about it.
Arlo was actually talking to John Trudell. "Arlo never
told me he helped kill anybody." Rensch pulled out the 1995
Grand Jury transcript, quoting her as saying, "Arlo never
talked to me."
Day 3 - Morning
PRELIMINARY NOTES
The day began at 9:00 PM sharp.
Judge Piersoll (curly gray hair and glasses, thin, very quiet
and hard to hear -also hard to read him) without the Jury present,
did a lengthy ruling on what "hearsay" is, quoting
AMAHI vs. US as a precedent, saying, "The truth of the matter
asserted is not hearsay."
Then the Jury came in,
looking nervous and very serious.
DENISE MALONEY, Annie's
oldest daughter, was called in by the Prosecution first - very
impressive I thought, black long hair, strong intelligent voice,
overweight, short. She was there with her sister and the chief
of their Nation. She mostly related an April 2002 phone call
to her and Debbie from Paul DeMain and Richard Two Elk, saying
that Arlo wanted to talk to them. After discussing it because
they "didn't like to talk to anybody publicly," they
decided to talk to Arlo because Two Elk was Arlo's "brother"
(a false representation which Rensch exposed later in the Trial
when Two Elk took the stand), and because DeMain vouched for
them. Arlo got on the phone and said, "He felt sad he hadn't
called. Angie, Theda, and John Boy were calling her -my mother
-a federal agent," relating what Arlo said. "He said
John Boy did it, but he wasn't present. He felt bad, he said."
That was about it. Short but powerful, a very impressive and
prestigious witness. Although it does raise the contradiction
that Arlo claimed to not be present.
CANDY HAMILTON was called
next, far less impressive. She's often quoted as a good friend
of Anna Mae's, and yet she didn't seem to know much or add much.
She had only come in to the WKLDOC office in Rapid City on Thursday,
December 11, 1975, on her way to Russell Means' trial in Sioux
Falls (even though Rapid City is hardly on the way to Sioux Falls).
She said, "We stayed at Thelma Rios' and her mother's apartment
around Maple Street, in North Rapid, the Alphabelle Apartments.
It was Thelma's mother's apartment, I think. Thelma was in the
process of moving in. She had been in a house on Milwaukee...
Thelma and Kathy's... then Dave Hill came in where we were visiting
in the kitchen, he just walked in and sat down. Soon after that
I went to bed, and in the morning I heard Bruce Ellison's voice
downstairs. Back at the WKLDOC House [712 Allen St.] we saw Bruce,
Anna Mae, Lorelei and Ted Means, Clyde Bellecourt, Madonna, and
Thelma... I ran into Annie in the kitchen where she was getting
a cup of coffee. She had tears in her eyes and was very unhappy."
Mandel interrupted her
and was very interested in Thelma's apartment and house, showing
photos of them and spending a lot of time going over the front
and back doors, where the kitchen was, etc., circling a front
window of the Allen St. house (which is still there, looking
very much like it did then).
Candy continued, "By
then, the next evening of the 11th, I didn't see Annie."
She said she then went to Sioux Falls via the Rosebud Reservation
with Ted and Clyde and somebody else she didn't know, emphasizing
again that she was going to Russell's Trial. When she talked
to people about Anna Mae over the following years, she quoted
Madonna Gilbert as saying, "We just told her (Annie) to
get out of there." Candy started to say, "I heard Bruce
at Thelma's say ..." (but then Rensch objected and stopped
the comment, he and the State approached the bench for a long
talk, as they did 3 or 4 times during the day).
Rensch then brought
up, "John Stewart, an FBI Informant, said Annie was an informant,
correct?"
Candy, "In October
or November of '75, I heard that, yes, at Oglala."
Rensch, "You heard
she was an informant? But still you were her friend and talked
to her casually in the Allen St. house in the kitchen that night?
Miss Hamilton, you never dreamed she'd be killed?"
"No."
"She didn't ask
for help or to call the police?"
"No."
Rensch did a good job
of showing how Anna Mae could have run out of these places anytime,
but she didn't. He also demonstrated Hamilton's limited knowledge
of the matter.
JEANNETTE EAGLE HAWK
was called next. McMahon asked her briefly about December 10
at the WKLDOC House. She said, "I saw Thelma, Bruce, Clyde,
Lorelei and Ted, and several legal workers in there." That
was all. She was not allowed to go anywhere but the kitchen.
CLEO BATES was called
next. She was married to Richard Marshall for 6 years then, in
Allen. She said Anna Mae came to her house. "Theda, Arlo,
and John brought the girl in. Anna was real quiet. Dick went
with them in the bedroom and then came out and said they wanted
us to keep her there. I said no. People were saying Annie Mae
was an informer. And so they left."
Rensch, "You never
dreamed something bad would happen to her?"
"No. Dick was on
his release from his trial."
It can be assumed that
perhaps they were trying to protect her, as she wasn't tied
up, and Cleo did not believe Anna Mae to be at risk. This would
be in keeping with John's assertion that he was with Anna Mae
while she looked for a safe place to stay on the Pine Ridge Reservation. And
again, she could have run out the front door if she wanted to
flee. It also seems very significant that this is connected to
Richard Marshall who, as you probably know, is closely connected
with Russell Means and the murder trial a few months later in
which Myrtle Poor Bear signed affidavits damning Marshall for
murder (just like she did against Peltier) at the exact same
time in February 1976 that the body, allegedly of Anna Mae,
was found.
RICHARD TWO ELK was called
next. He came in, almost bald, waving eagle feather fans to swear
to, and immediately argued with Rensch and insulted him. He said
he was an educational consultant. It got very heated and ugly,
and the audience was laughing outright at his absurdities by
the end of a long hassle of a testimony.
An AIM member from 1970
- 1975, he said he lived in Denver and Iowa. He is not a blood
relation of Arlo. "Graham was a friend of me and Arlo in
74 to 76 in AIM. 75 and 76 for certain. In 1994, from Federal
Holding, we (Arlo) talked. He got out of jail. Mid to late 80s
we talked. At his aunt's house in Denver. He told me in South
Dakota they went out looking for somewhere to go, to kill Anna
Mae. Arlo told me they were trying to find somewhere to go. To
stop. They got out of the vehicle, John Boy and Annie Mae."
His story would change often, whether they went to Rosebud or
not, for example."
Rensch: "What school
did you teach at?"
Two Elk: "I
can't divulge that."
Rensch: "When did
you live in Iowa?"
Two Elk: "70, 73,
74."
Rensch: " Did you
ever live in the same place with Arlo?"
Two Elk: "At Troy
Lynn's, 73, 71."
Then they had an incredible
argument raising their voices because Rensch said his statements
were inconsistent, and Two Elk asked, "What's consistent?"
It was ridiculous. He made little sense, which was obvious to
everyone present -surprising considering he was a major witness
for the State. Rensch said, "Your answers are often inconsistent." Two
Elk fired back sarcastically, "All answers are different."
Rensch: "You don't like
AIM do you?"
Two Elk: " I couldn't
say that."
Rensch: " Who are
your blood brothers. Directly related brothers with the same
mother and father?"
Two Elk: "Umm...what
is the value of that to this case?" He finally said, Aaron
Two Elk.
Rensch: "The truth
of the matter, sir, you'll do anything to hurt AIM." He
then quoted some of Two Elk's Grand Jury testimony, "You
asked him 'Did you commit murder, Arlo,' and he said no."
Two Elk: "I can't
tell you that."
Rensch: "You said
it in the Grand Jury, it's right here in the transcript."
Two Elk: " You
say. I wouldn't say that."
Rensch: "You're
making this up as you go, aren't you?"
Two Elk: No answer.
Rensch: "DeMain's
given you money. You love this man, he's your brother?"
he asked, pointing to Arlo.
Two Elk: "Yes."
Rensch: "Did Arlo
tell you it was a .38 pistol?"
Two Elk: "Yes."
Rensch: "It was
a .32. What he really told you at Troy Lynn's was that he went
to Rapid city and stayed in an abandoned apartment with his old
friend Tony Red Cloud. Did Arlo tell you that?"
Two Elk: "No."
They had another long heated
argument about how many times Arlo talked to Two Elk about Anna
Mae. Two Elk changed his story as fast as they talked. People
were laughing by then. Two Elk said, "Depends on which time
the conversation changed. We talked many many times over a lot
of years. 30 to 40 percent of the time Arlo said, 6 times, possibly
a dozen."
Rensch: "Huh?"
Then Two Elk started
laughing.
Rensch: "Is this
funny to you, sir?"
Two Elk: " No,
you're funny to me."
No more questions, and
the Judge abruptly told him he was dismissed. Some of the jurors
had smiles on their faces.
JOHN TRUDELL was called
next. He primarily related only one conversation with Arlo and
Troy Lynn on the street in Denver in 1988, in which Arlo confessed
to him the same story.
He said he last saw Anna Mae
in Los Angeles in September. "She was concerned, mostly
angry, at the accusations. Three of us stayed with her for security,
to protect her. But somebody called - I don't know who - and
she flew back to Denver. That was the last time I saw her or
heard from her, except for the ring she sent White Bear a month
or so later."
The most important thing he
said, I think, which he said several times emphatically, was
that "it all hinges at that house (in Rapid City). Somebody
was telling them what to do. When they came out of that house
they were under instructions to kill her. They were not decision-makers.
They wouldn't have done it on their own. It's not something they
thought up on their own."
Day 3 - Afternoon
Robert Ecoffey was the
only witness on the Stand this afternoon.
Ecoffey: "Gladys
Bisonette gave me the name of Al Gates, which led me to Arlo
Looking Cloud in '93. Ligature marks on Anna Mae's wrists clearly
indicated to me she was tied up, and they weren't from a bracelet.
Detective Abe Alonzo called me from Denver on September 6, 1994,
and said he had Arlo in custody on local charges. I went to Denver
and interviewed Arlo, where he said he didn't know anything.
He wasn't even in Denver," he said, in December 1975.
But Denver Police said
they had records Arlo was stopped on December 15, 1975 for a
violation. They'd drop local charges if he'd cooperate in the
homicide investigation of Anna Mae. Arlo was then taken to South
Dakota on July 24, 1995, in custody again on local charges -he
did not come voluntarily. Ecoffey said Anna Mae had been taken
to Knollwood Apartments in Rapid City, tied up, to the abandoned
apartment on a hill. No one was living there at the time.
Arlo: "No, I didn't
take her to the WKLDOC office (after Ecoffey prodded him
to say so, after Mandel prodded Ecoffey to prod Arlo)."
Ecoffey: "Alonzo,
Ianucci, and I took Arlo to Wanblee, in custody in a US Marshal's
vehicle, and he agreed to a re-enactment, 3 miles north of the
Junction of 79 and 44. 'I fired the gun,' Arlo said."
Ecoffey: "We located
the weapon. It was buried under a bridge between Interior and
Wanblee. We stopped and looked for it but couldn't find it."
Then they showed the
VIDEOTAPE of Arlo's "confession" in the Denver Police
Department last March 27, 2003, which Judge Piersoll told the
Jury "is evidence, but the transcript of it is not."
It was, frankly, sickening to watch, how Abe Alonzo was obviously
leading Arlo to make statements, coercing him, etc. Arlo stated
that he was still unclear and under the influence of alcohol,
and yet there they are, getting his signed and videotaped narrative
of everything.
Cop: "Do you have
a home address?"
Arlo: "No."
Cop: "Will you
voluntarily talk?"
Arlo: "Yes. [He
then signs 2 documents]
Cop: "Let's start
back at Troy Lynn's."
Arlo: "I don't
know the date or anything, we were friends. I went to see Joe
Morgan. Theda was there, Troy Lynn, I never met John before.
They said go to the basement."
Cop: "Have we made
any threats or promises to you here today?"
Arlo: "No."
Cop: "Are you under
the influence of drugs or alcohol?"
Arlo: "A little
bit of alcohol."
Cop: "Did you meet John
Boy Graham or Patton in the basement?" Arlo: "Yes,
I guess. I never met him before. We stayed down there and the
girl woke up on the couch."
Cop: "Was that
Anna Mae?"
Arlo: "I don't
know. I never met her."
Cop: "When you
went to Rapid City, did Theda know where to take her?"
Arlo: "I guess.
She was driving."
Cop: "John tied
her up then?"
Arlo: "I guess
so." [He's barely coherent and muttering, very unsure of
himself.]
Cop: "Where was
Theda?"
Arlo: "She went
and got the keys for the house."
Cop: "Tell us what
you know and I'll fill in the blanks."
Arlo: "We went
somewhere on Rosebud, at some house."
Cop: "Was that
at Kills place?"
Arlo: "I don't
know. I was never there."
Cop: "So you kept
her tied up?"
Arlo: "I don't
think she was tied up."
Cop: "When was
she tied up?"
Arlo: "I don't
know."
Cop: "Theda said,
'Go with John Boy," when you stopped the car?"
Arlo: "It was getting
toward morning on the road from Wanblee back to Rapid. It was
getting kind of blue outside."
Cop: "John Boy
and Annie got out?"
Arlo: "Yeah. John
Boy pulled out a pistol. He put it at her head. He shot her in
the head. She was praying. He gave me the gun. I thought he was
going to kill me."
Cop: "She got shot
and fell over the cliff?"
Arlo: "Yeah."
Cop: "Was it a
revolver?"
Arlo: "Yeah, I
think so."
Cop: "Who untied her?"
Arlo: "I don't
know."
Cop: "Why was she
shot?"
Arlo: "I don't
know."
Cop: "Did Theda
say she was an informant?"
Arlo: "I don't
know."
Cop: "On the way
to Rapid City from Denver you had stopped at Allen at Richard
Marshall's."
Arlo: "No."
Cop: "I know for
a fact you did."
Arlo: "No, I don't
remember that."
Cop: "You remember
that?"
Arlo: "No."
Cop: "I want you
to think about, that Cleo said you and John Boy and Theda and
Dick went in the bedroom. They asked if you could leave Anna
Mae there, but Cleo said no. I need you to be truthful."
Arlo: "No."
Cop: "Do you remember
seeing Thelma Rios at the house in Rapid City?"
Arlo: "No."
Cop: "Do you remember
seeing David Hill there? Do you know David Hill?"
Arlo: "No."
Cop: "I know you
know these people."
Arlo: "No."
Cop: "She was tied
up?"
Arlo: "I don't
think she was."
Cop: "You said
John Boy untied her."
Arlo: "I don't
know."
The Prosecution rested
its case. Rensch moved for an acquittal because he said the Prosecution
had prejudiced the jury against AIM. Judge Piersoll denied.
AGENT PRICE was called,
but was only asked a few brief questions as to whether he had
developed informants in AIM, and whether Ann a Mae was an informant.
He said they did in fact develop undercover informants, but that
Anna Mae was not one of them.
Rensch rested his case.
An impression of the
whole day is that Arlo's so-called "confession" is
the State's case, while using prestigious and impressive witnesses
like Anna Mae's daughter and Trudell who are being presented
as saying these things themselves, but are actually just repeating
what Arlo told them much later, in 1988 and 2002, replete with
significant contradictions. As National Director of AIM, it is
surprising that this was all Trudell could say. He actually
said at one point, "No one really knew what happened."
He also said he had Sundanced with John Graham in the Spring
of 1976, which would be only a month or two after John had allegedly
killed Anna Mae. It doesn't make sense. But John Trudell and
Denise seem to be buying into it, without really knowing very
much about the case.
Day 4
Closing statements,
and it went to Jury for deliberations at about 1:00 PM.
Everyone was still in
shock that Defense Attorney Rensch called exactly one witness
-FBI SA David Price -late Thursday afternoon to counter the Prosecution's
23 witnesses, and that he had asked his one-and -only witness,
Agent Price, a few questions lasting no more than 10 minutes,
establishing that yes, indeed, the FBI developed undercover informants,
but not Anna Mae. Questions remain as to why he did
not call other witnesses, such as Bruce Ellison, Thelma Rios,
Theda Clark, Richard Marshall, Russell Means, David Hill, Madonna
Gilbert, Ted and Lorelei Means -all the people who other witnesses
said they saw with Anna Mae at the WKLDOC House and other places
around town. And why didn't he subpoena Dennis Banks to
refute Kamook's damning testimony?
This morning at 10:00
AM, they both summarized emotionally, each seeming to appeal
to the jury for "pro-Indian" sentiment.
Four days... I thought,
"this is it?"
And tonight, 7 hours
later, Arlo Looking Cloud was pronounced "Guilty."
Russell Means ran out to the TV cameras and proclaimed it a "racist"
verdict.
Rapid City feels very
tense tonight, not the least because of the irony that tomorrow
morning, February 7, William Janklow must report to the Sioux
Falls jail to begin serving his 100 days for manslaughter. Not
the least because today is the day Leonard Peltier was captured
in Canada in 1976 and is serving well past 10,000 days.
<
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| Leonard Peltier >
> >
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Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell
