Native American activist Leonard Peltier, who has been incarcerated since 1977 for a crime he maintains he did not commit, has tested positive for COVID-19 after campaigning to be released due to unsafe conditions in prisons.
Peltier tested positive on January 28,“We are all very concerned, as is Leonard,” Peltier’s attorney Kevin Sharp told HuffPost. “He wanted people to know that he sends his love and appreciation for the years everyone has fought for him. And should he make it through this, he intends to continue speaking out for Native rights.
” Sharp told HuffPost’s Jennifer Bendery that Peltier was experiencing “painful” symptoms and had been placed in isolation for 10 days.before the announcement of his positive test result, citing health conditions including diabetes and an abdominal aortic aneurysm, as well as “fear and stress” caused by constant prison lockdowns. “[Being] left alone and without attention is like a torture chamber for the sick and old,” Peltier shared in a statement provided to HuffPost.