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“TRIBUTE TO FBI SPECIAL AGENTS RONALD A. WILLIAMS AND JACK R. COLER” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1147-E1148 on June 29, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO FBI SPECIAL AGENTS RONALD A. WILLIAMS AND JACK R. COLER
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HON. MICHAEL G. OXLEY
of ohio
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, June 28, 2000
Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, twenty-five years ago last Monday, FBI Special Agents Ronald A. Williams and Jack R. Coler were mercilessly gunned down on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation. The agents were pursuing a fugitive on June 26, 1975; one of the three people in the vehicle the agents were tracking was Leonard Peltier. A fugitive from justice wanted for attempted murder, Peltier and his associates abruptly emerged from their vehicle and opened fire on the agents. Williams and Coler were shot point blank in the head, and died instantly. Peltier was captured after several months, and now serves two consecutive life sentences at Leavenworth.
Time and again, Peltier rightly has been denied parole for his heinous crimes, most recently just two weeks ago. Each of his appeals has failed. Even after a quarter century, and amid the constant barrage of liberal Hollywood actors glorifying this murderer, the American people have not forgotten Peltier's fatal assaults. Leonard Peltier slaughtered two young FBI special agents at the beginning of their careers, for which he deserves to spend the remainder of his life in prison.
As a fellow former FBI special agent, I am honored today to recognize the supreme sacrifice of Ronald A. Williams, age 27, and Jack R. Coler, age 28. These slain heroes gave their lives in defense of justice for all. I join law enforcement officers throughout the nation in saluting their memories on this day. Their fidelity, bravery, and integrity live on in their comrades.
I commend to my colleagues' attention the following statement by FBI Director Louis Freeh.
U.S. Department of Justice,
Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Washington, DC June 26, 2000.
Statement of FBI Director Louis J. Freeh
On behalf of the men and women of the FBI, and in memory of all who have lost their lives in the line of duty, I would like to observe the 25th anniversary of the brutal slaying of Special Agents Ronald A. Williams and Jack R. Coler.
Twenty-five years ago today, these two outstanding Special Agents of the FBI were summarily executed by a gunman in South Dakota. Ron Williams and Jack Coler had been searching for a robbery suspect near Pine Ridge on 6/26/75 when they were shot from a distance of 250 yards. They were grievously wounded and on the ground when the killer approached and shot them, one after the other, at point blank range, through their faces.
The FBI cannot forget this cold blooded crime, nor should the American people. I was a new Special Agent, still in training school, when this horrific crime was enacted. Its cold blooded disregard for law and order ensured that it would never be forgotten, its criminal nature never obscured.
In February 1976, Leonard Peltier was arrested and charged with the murder of these two agents. The evidence was unarguable and conclusive. On 4/18/77, he was found guilty of the first-degree murders of Williams and Cofer and sentenced on 6/1/77 to two consecutive life terms. All his many appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit have failed. The Supreme Court of the United States has twice denied Peltier's petitions for review of his case. Most recently, on 6/12/2000, his parole board held its regular 2-year statutory review of the case, pending the full hearing it is required to hold in 2008. Once again, parole for Leonard Peltier was not recommended. It is a testament to the American judicial system and the American people that 25 years have not been able to erase or soften the facts of the case. The rule of law has continued to prevail over the emotion of the moment, the cornerstone attribute of our criminal justice system.
The men and women of the FBI--and law enforcement officers everywhere--put their lives on the line on a daily basis to protect the American people. They, with me, would like to remind the nation of the fidelity, bravery, and integrity of Agents Williams and Coler who 25 years ago today lost their lives but not their places in our hearts.
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