Posted on 11/26/2008 12:25:18 AM PST by South40
Black Leader Condemns Bush for Not Pardoning or Commuting Sentences of Jailed Border Agents During Pre-Thanksgiving Round of Executive Clemency
Washington, D.C. - Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie is condemning President Bush’s inaction regarding incarcerated Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean and is reiterating his call for a pardon or commutation of the agents' sentences before the President leaves office in January.
Massie’s call comes as the White House has announced that President George W. Bush granted pre-Thanksgiving pardons to individuals involved in the distribution of drugs and bank embezzlement and commuted the sentences of two men given harsh mandatory sentences related to cocaine trafficking.
"I condemn President Bush in the harshest possible terms for not pardoning or, at the very least, commuting the sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean," said Massie. "His refusal is a shameful disgrace, especially since he previously saw fit to commute the sentence of his friend and colleague Scooter Libby and now two convicted cocaine traffickers. His steadfast refusal to provide relief for these wronged law enforcement officers leaves those who supported and defended him to wonder just how the President defines 'compassionate conservatism.'"
Ramos and Compean, incarcerated since January 2007, are serving jail sentences of 11 and 12 years, respectively. Most of their time has been served in solitary confinement. Massie has repeatedly asked President Bush to show leniency to Ramos and Compean.
Ramos and Compean were prosecuted for an incident that occurred in February 2005 on the U.S.-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas. They chased Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila on foot after he abandoned a van containing 743 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $1 million. During the chase, Ramos shot at Aldrete-Davila after Ramos thought he saw Aldrete-Davila draw a gun. Aldrete-Davila escaped across the U.S.-Mexico border, and Ramos assumed Aldrete-Davila was unhurt. In fact, Aldrete-Davila had been shot in the buttock. U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton later charged Ramos and Compean for pursuing Aldrete-Davila without supervisor approval, moving spent shell casings and improperly reporting the fired shots.
Aldrete-Davila was granted immunity to testify against Ramos and Compean. He recently plead guilty to charges that he conspired to smuggle marijuana into the United States twice after he was granted immunity and faces a jail term of between five and 40 years and $2 million in fines (although The Washington Times cited a source who claims Aldrete-Davila may only serve six to 10 years in exchange for his plea).
Among the 14 people pardoned by President Bush on November 24 were Andrew Foster Harley for the wrongful use and distribution of marijuana and cocaine at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Obie Gene Helton for unauthorized acquisition of food stamps and Geneva Yvonne Hogg for bank embezzlement.
President Bush also commuted the sentences of John Edwards Forte and James Russell Harris, who were convicted in separate cocaine-related cases and received mandatory sentences of 14 and 30 years, respectively. Earlier this month, a federal judge refused to reduce the mandatory sentences for Ramos and Compean related to their use of guns in their case.
Massie added: "In the absence of President Bush's willingness to show compassion, it is my hope that President-elect Barack Obama - who has raised concerns about mandatory minimum sentencing, will make the immediate release of Ramos and Compean a matter of priority when he takes office."
Project 21's Massie wrote about the Ramos and Compean case in a commentary published in The Washington Times on December 28, 2007. This commentary is available at http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/dec/28/justice-for-two.
Project 21, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research, has been a leading voice of the African-American community since 1992. For more information, contact David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or project21@nationalcenter.org, or visit Project 21's website at www.project21.org/P21Index.html.
What a loser.
He's a loser.
Here’s a “black leader” I can agree with!
Wait a minute... I thought Bush was a compassionate conservative...
Jorge Bush loves ILLEGALS too much to pardon these agents. Drug smugglers, childmolesters—whatever.
It seems that every last shred of decency has fled this nation. We probably deserve the future that seems to be unfolding.
What am I missing? Everything I have read about these border agents makes it sound like an obvious travesty of justice. What is the other side of the story? There must be something else?
The outrage is this:
The prosecutor used his own discretion to treat these law enforcement agents as CRIMINALS.
They were charged under a law to go after CRIMINALS and their use of firearms, and the law allows a very stiff prison sentence.
And I’d like to ask this: Since when do law enforcement agents not have the right to fire a shot at a fleeing suspect?
WHY???
When the appeals court refused to allow W's "BUD" Scooter to remain free pending appeal, Bush executed a Commutation order WITHIN HOURS of that decision.
So, why cut him any slack.
He has continually ignored the overwhelming evidence that shows these 2 Border Agents were targets of malicious prosecution by another one of W's "BUDS" Sutton as well as undue influence coming from Mexico.
And finally regardless of their offenses (REAL OR ALLEGED) the decision to charge them with the commission of a felony involving a firearm, which is the governing statute which subjected them to a mandatory minimum of 10 years was at the SOLE DISCRETION of that botton-feeding, scumbag, Sutton.
Anyone who knows anything about how prosecutors (or US Attorneys) operate will admit that they have sole authority to decide what charges and under what statutes they fall under to bring against a defendant.
SUTTON DID NOT HAVE TO INCLUDE THAT PARTICULAR CHARGE. THAT HE DID, KNOWING THE OUTCOME IF THEY WERE FOUND GUILTY, PROVES THIS WAS MALISCIOUS FROM THE BEGINING AND ALL OF SUTTON'S FEIGNED INNOCENCE NOW AS HE CLAIMS HE'S SORRY FOR THEIR PREDICAMENT BUT THAT IT WAS THAT DASTARDLY MANADATORY MINIMUM WHICH WAS TO BLAME IS COMPLETELY BOGUS AND BULL SH*T--WHICH IMHO, WAS THE NAIL IN MCLAME'S CAMPAIGN AND I DON'T BELIEVE FOR ONE MINUTE W DIDN'T REALIZE THIS WHEN HE LED THE CHICKEN LITTLE CHARGE AND LET HIS CRAZED, LIBERL, DEMOCRAT-SUPPORTING, DOG (PAULSON) LOOSE TO PURUSE THIS ISSUE WITH THE UPMOST URGENCY.
So you and others can cut Jorge all the slack you want; as for me, Bush stopped being my President a long time ago and though I would have as soon see the Devil in the oval office as John "The Snake" Kerry, Bush has more than just disappointed me and forsaken the Republicans, he has actually caused us conservatives considerable harm and continues to do so with this bailout fiasco.
January 20 WILL NOT COME SOON ENOUGH FOR ME. At least with DEAR LEADER, we will know from whence that knife in our back is coming from--a far left Marxist, moonbat and it is something we can expect.
That we had this same betrayal and attack from someone who we thought would support us and work for the good of Conservatives, is more than I am willing to accept, forgive or forget.
The “something else” could be what more Ramos and Compean know about Aldrete-Davila and his connections...
This refusal to pardon the two Border Patrol agents, while giving amnesty to drug dealers, smacks of treason.
Someone should tell Jorge Boosh he is not President of Mexico
Well, the two agents did lie about discharging their weapons etc. They guy was shot in the butt, got into Mejico afterwards...
Nevertheless, President Bush’s failure to pardon or commute these two sentences IS a terrible disappointment.
I just don’t understand how this kind and decent man either has not or will not let these two men out. It baffles me.
Let’s see what you have to say about Obama over the next several years.
One day you’ll regret not supporting President Bush.
So does JOHN MCCAIN and BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA. Your point?
Because of this stupid/duplicitous action, and others, (not sealing the border,failure to build the fence, the North American Union, the Amero, and other things) I have long felt Bush and others in the chain are getting kickbacks from the drug trafficers.
My thoughts exactly. The only thing I can come up with is that money is changing hands somewhere (drug money). Maybe it's buying that 100,000 acre ranch in South America(?)
Mena, Arkansas has made me curious for some time. Why would the elder Bush buddy up with Clinton while Clinton continually bad-mouthed his son?
You should recognize the tremendous courage it took for South40 to stand alone and call Pres. Bush a loser. This will surely lead to ridicule by the media, admonishment from the Democrats, and a good scolding by members of this forum.
Has anyone asked Carly Simon her opinion on this case?
The something else is Johnny Sutton, who served as President Bush's criminal policy director when Bush was Governor of Texas. I doubt that President Bush will ever pardon Mr. Ramos or Mr. Compean due to his loyalty/long-standing connection to Sutton.
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