Peter MacDonald's sentence commuted

In one of his last acts as president, Bill Clinton commuted the prison sentence of former Tribal Chairman Peter MacDonald on January 20. MacDonald, who was incarcerated in 1992, was serving a 14-year sentence for inciting a deadly riot in Window Rock, which ended in the deaths of two people.

MacDonald, who had served nearly half of his sentence, was in failing health, according to family members. Vern Lee, who runs a pro-MacDonald website, reported that MacDonald was without proper medical care, having suffered “several heart attacks, arthritis, (and) borderline diabetes.” MacDonald, 72, also underwent triple-bypass surgery during his incarceration.

The Navajo Tribal Council itself passed a resolution (CAP-30-95) in 1995 to ask for a Presidential Pardon for MacDonald, while pardoning MacDonald for his Navajo Nation convictions, which carried a sentence of seven years in a tribal facility. Still, the Presidential pardon was denied in 1996.

Family members were hoping that MacDonald would be transferred to a federal correctional facility in Arizona, where he would be closer to his homeland. Now that MacDonald’s sentence has been commuted, he has indicated that he will return to the reservation.

A full pardon would have restored MacDonald’s full civil rights—a commuted sentence means that MacDonald will not be allowed to vote for example.

Supporters are thrilled to know that MacDonald is a free man.

Said Lee, “this [will] enhance the healing process and the unification of the Navajo Nation.”

At time of press, the Navajo Nation was putting the finishing touches on a joint statement which will be published in next week’s issue of the Navajo-Hopi Observer.

Donate to nhonews.com Report a Typo Contact
Most Read