Review Of Handful Of Reservation Deaths Completed

U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson says his office has determined that "some" of the four or five unresolved death cases on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation that have been reviewed should be closed.

Johnson says his office has completed a review of a fraction of the approximately 60 deaths presented to him by members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. The tribe, which is headquartered on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, asked Johnson last year to review the unresolved deaths.

The FBI refused to reinvestigate the cases without new information. A report released in 2000 detailed the FBI's decision to close 57 cases, but tribal leaders say that report is questionable.

Johnson would not go into specifics about the cases. He says more information will be released in the spring.