The president commuted Peltier over the objection of former FBI Director Christopher Wray. In a private letter sent to Biden earlier this month and obtained by The Associated Press, Wray reiterated his position that “Peltier is a remorseless killer,” and urged the president not to act.

The Native American activist says he did not receive a fair trial in the slayings of FBI agents Ronald Williams and Jack Coler at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

The ailing Native American rights activist has been in prison for nearly 50 years after the U.S. government lied to put him there.