Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents

[Desertdog]

 
Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents 
 
Jan 19 01:03 PM US/Eastern
By DEB RIECHMANN
Associated Press Writer 6 Comments         
 http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D95QC3480&show_article=1
 
  WASHINGTON (AP) - In his final acts of clemency, President George W. Bush on Monday commuted the prison sentences of two former U.S. Border Patrol agents whose convictions for shooting a Mexican drug dealer ignited fierce debate about illegal immigration.
Bush's decision to commute the sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who tried to cover up the shooting, was welcomed by both Republican and Democratic members of Congress. They had long argued that the agents were merely doing their jobs, defending the American border against criminals. They also maintained that the more than 10-year prison sentences the pair was given were too harsh.

Rancor over their convictions, sentencing and firings has simmered ever since the shooting occurred in 2005.

Ramos and Compean became a rallying point among conservatives and on talk shows where their supporters called them heroes. Nearly the entire bipartisan congressional delegation from Texas and other lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle pleaded with Bush to grant them clemency.

Bush didn't pardon the men for their crimes, but decided instead to commute their prison sentences because he believed they were excessive and that they had already suffered the loss of their jobs, freedom and reputations, a senior administration official said.

The action by the president, who believes the border agents received fair trials and that the verdicts were just, does not diminish the seriousness of their crimes, the official said.

Compean and Ramos, who have served about two years of their sentences, are expected to be released from prison within the next two months.

They were convicted of shooting admitted drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete Davila in the buttocks as he fled across the Rio Grande, away from an abandoned van load of marijuana. The border agents argued during their trials that they believed the smuggler was armed and that they shot him in self defense. The prosecutor in the case said there was no evidence linking the smuggler to the van of marijuana. The prosecutor also said the border agents didn't report the shooting and tampered with evidence by picking up several spent shell casings.

The agents were fired after their convictions on several charges, including assault with a dangerous weapon and with serious bodily injury, violation of civil rights and obstruction of justice. All their convictions, except obstruction of justice, were upheld on appeal.

With the new acts of clemency, Bush has granted a total of 189 pardons and 11 commutations.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 
 

[Perd Hapley]

   Never thought he would give them so much as a Christmas card. 

[Manedwolf]

About time. Thankfully before someone shanked them in prison, but still far too long.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

need to talk to your legislators about those mandatory sentence laws

[grampster]

One of the agents what beaten within an inch of his life, iirc.  They were supposed to be kept sequestered from general population, but were not.

[AZRedhawk44]

Thank God.  It's about time.

This should have been done years ago, and the CIA should have been assigned a hit on the little drug smuggling cockroach that "testified" in court to put them in jail in the first place.

[HankB]

Commutation is NOT the same thing as a pardon!!!

Yes, I'm glad the sentences were commuted, but as usual from this outgoing president, it's too little, too late. 

(Wouldn't it be wild if Obama were to issue a pardon? Think of the politics of it!)

[Viking]

Thank God.  It's about time.

This should have been done years ago, and the CIA should have been assigned a hit on the little drug smuggling cockroach that "testified" in court to put them in jail in the first place.

Any links about the case?

[AZRedhawk44]

I'm too lazy to go find 'em right now, but they are plentiful.

The guy they shot was a drug mule.  He escaped by running back into mexico.

Ramos/Campean were prohibited from bringing up prior convictions of this guy regarding illegal entry into the US and drug smuggling to use in their defense.  Why?  I dunno.

Then the FedGov made a deal with this weasel to get him to testify against Ramos/Campean in court. 

It galls just about every fiber or rationality and sensibility.

There are concerns about the initial report (or lack thereof?) made by Ramos and Campean though.

[Gewehr98]

A different synopsis:

They shot an unarmed drug runner in the backside as he was fleeing.

They did so while (wrongly) hiding under the auspices of the law.

They went to great pains to hide the evidence, even policing their spent brass and dumping it in a nearby river.

They went to jail for attempted murder, just like you or I would if we shot an unarmed somebody in the back, regardless of the perp's previous history.

To paint it as anything else smacks of a double standard. 

Doesn't mean I like drug dealers, but I tolerate vigilante justice even less.

Judge Roy Bean's day has long since come and gone.

People forget that our two former Border Patrol agents took it upon themselves to decide that drug running was a capital offense in these United States, and subsequently played judge, jury, and executioner.

The courts found that they had fired upon somebody who was not a threat to them - bottom line.

Their sentence was indeed commuted, but they will always have "felon" in their resumes, and rightfully so.

[txgho1911]

Who was that Fed prosecutors name again. Now they may have a chance to work on overturning the conviction if it can be done.
Bush SOP. Never do something exactly right. Gotta be halfway, twice as much, or wrong target altogether.
Drug runner was caught again running drugs while waiting to testify.

[AZRedhawk44]

A different synopsis:

They shot an unarmed drug runner in the backside as he was fleeing.

They did so while (wrongly) hiding under the auspices of the law.

They went to great pains to hide the evidence, even policing their spent brass and dumping it in a nearby river.

They went to jail for attempted murder, just like you or I would if we shot an unarmed somebody in the back, regardless of the perp's previous history.

To paint it as anything else smacks of a double standard. 

Doesn't mean I like drug dealers, but I tolerate vigilante justice even less.

Judge Roy Bean's day has long since come and gone.

People forget that our two former Border Patrol agents took it upon themselves to decide that drug running was a capital offense in these United States, and subsequently played judge, jury, and executioner.

Their sentence was indeed commuted, but they will always have "felon" in their resumes, and rightfully so.

Osvaldo Aldrete Davila is the smuggler in question and he was never killed.  He testified against Ramos and Campean on your dime.

Ramos has been quoted, saying:
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/border_agents_get_prison.html

Later, he explained, I saw Compean on the ground, but I kept running after the smuggler. At that point, Ramos said, the drug-trafficker turned and pointed what appeared to be a gun at Ramos, and the agent fired, apparently hitting him in the buttocks. But the drug smuggler continued his flight. Eventually, he was picked up on the Mexican side of the border by another van. Compean had apparently scuffled with the man and suffered minor cuts and bruises.

So, one agent saw that his partner was down and the man running away from the van full of drugs is pointing something that looks like a weapon back at Ramos.

Yep, lynch 'em.

I see you changed the "murderer" line to "vigilante justice", which is better.

[Werewolf]

A different synopsis:

They shot an unarmed drug runner in the back as he was fleeing, killing him.

They shot a foreign invader unlawfully fleeing the police.

They did so while (wrongly) hiding under the auspices of the law.

They went to jail for murder, just like you or I would if we shot an unarmed somebody in the back, regardless of the deceased's previous history.

They went to jail because a headlines hungry pro illegal immigration DA had a hard on for them and wanted to impress his masters.

To paint it as anything else smacks of a double standard.

Not a double standard. Just more proof that the law and justice are rarely one and the same.

Doesn't mean I like drug dealers, but I tolerate murderers even less.

People forget that our two former Border Patrol agents took it upon themselves to decide that drug running was a capital offense in these United States, and subsequently played judge, jury, and executioner.

Their sentence was indeed commuted, but they will always have "felon" in their resumes, and rightfully so.

To some it's murder - to others they did their duy protecting US Citizens from foreign invaders of the most evil kind. Too bad we don't have more border patrol agents with the moral courage to kill foreign invaders running illegal drugs into this country. Might be a few less drug runners.

[Gewehr98]

Bzzzzt.  Wrong answer.

Until the U.S. Supreme Court and/or other lawmakers rule that drug running is a capital offense, the facts of the case point to attempted murder, plain and simple. 

The convicted Border Patrol agents knew they were in the wrong, and even tried to cover it up afterwards.

Lest we forget, this is Armed Polite Society, and we go out of our way to stay out of the lunatic fringe zone.

This forum will not now, nor will it ever be, a proponent/sounding board/mouthpiece of lawless vigilante justice.

I guarantee that.

I don't care if the Texicans onboard still think cattle rustling is a hangin' offense, or that you can shoot somebody for stealing the '78 Camaro out of your driveway.  That's Texas, and similar actions in the other states would get you time. 

For the record, I'm not defending the drug dealer - far from it.

I am, however, in full agreement with the former agents being arrested, charged, and convicted for their illegal actions. 

Rewarding crooked law enforcement does not bode well for us as a nation, any way you look at it.

I am very disappointed in some members' comments here.  "Lynch 'em", and "Moral Courage".  Nice.  Really nice.