Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), a former chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the longest-serving member of the Senate, delivered an urgent message Friday to his former longtime colleague, President Joe Biden : Let Leonard Peltier go home.

I urge President Biden to commute Leonard Peltiers prison sentence and release him from federal prison, Leahy said in a statement. Peltier, a prominent Native American activist, was imprisoned for crimes he and many other legal experts and advocates maintain he never committed. His trial was so riddled with flaws that even one of the prosecutors trying him has acknowledged that Peltier was wrongfully convicted. Peltier, now 77 years old and ailing with multiple health problems, has served more than 44 years in federal prison.

Peltier is exactly the kind of individual who should be considered for clemency, the statement said.

Leahy, who served in the Senate with Biden for 36 years, said the criminal justice system is clearly imperfect, and that Peltier knows firsthand just how imperfect it can be.

I have long believed that pardons and commutations are vital tools to offer clemency and relief, particularly when our criminal justice system has been contorted to propagate injustices, said the Vermont Democrat. I call on President Biden to commute Mr. Peltiers sentence expeditiously. It is the right thing to do.