Posted on 10/19/2006 3:37:27 PM PDT by no dems
Edited on 10/19/2006 4:07:46 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Ex-border agents sentenced for shooting smuggler
AP
EL PASO, Texas -- Two former U.S. Border Patrol agents were each sentenced Thursday to more than a decade in federal prison for shooting a Mexican drug smuggler and then trying to cover it up.
Ignacio Ramos was sentenced to 11 years and one day, and Jose Alonso Compean was sentenced to 12 years. Both were fired after their convictions on several charges including assault with a deadly weapon, obstruction of justice, and a civil rights violation.
The men, neither of whom spoke in court, will be allowed to turn themselves in Jan. 17.
The agents have proclaimed their innocence in the Feb. 17, 2005, shooting of admitted drug smuggler Osvlado Aldrete Davila.
Aldrete was shot in the buttocks as he fled across the Rio Grande into Mexico after a confrontation with Ramos and Compean. The agents said they shot in self defense, but prosecutors charged that they had no reason to shoot at the fleeing man, who later claimed he was unarmed.
Since their convictions, support for the agents has swelled. Several prominent law makers, including U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, the Wisconsin Republican who chairs the House judiciary committee, have even called for a Congressional investigation into the agents' prosecutions.
The union representing most rank and file Border Patrol agents established a legal defense fund. And civilian border watch groups have asked the U.S. Attorney General's office to review the case and throw out the jury's guilty verdicts.
These agents wont be pardoned.
Dobbs? Since when did he get to be anyone's boy toy?
Scummy Dobbs has latched onto an issue to get certain conservatives to watch him...all about ratings. The dems and their extremist amigos are laughing all the way to the bank.
"No....This COUNTRY sucks.
Find a better one and go to it."
How's this:
"No....aspects of this COUNTRY suck."
Fixed it with merely adding nine letters and removing one.
Now there may be a hint of the problem, there St. Mary's Law has the lowest rate of passage of the bar exam of any Texas Law School. Or did a few years ago when my daughter took, and passed the bar exam, on her first try, after graduating from one of those others.
Hi ya, eleni121. Yep, plays into the hands of democrats, but we both know that some posters love nothing better than to blame President Bush. They're part of the "teach the GOP a lesson" wing, whereas we are "teach the democrats another lesson" voters.
Bet that'd put a chill in the Dem party watchers.
They did not report that they had done so until the IG's office got involved, and they destroyed evidence. That is what they were convicted on. Amazing how those details didn't make it into the thread.
Do you really mean that or do you mean the courts in this country suck.
Thanks - I was guessing there just might have been a little more to the story...
I went to cnn.com and could not find the story. It was on Lou Dobbs show at 6:00 p.m. EDT and 5:00 p.m. CDT.
Only in that various BATF agents who have done similar things over the past couple of decades have not likewise been prosecuted.
I think the judge and jury were privy to all of the facts. Sadly, there are times when the circumstances dictate this kind of sentence. It checks and balances power. Certainly there will be an appeal, utilizing due process. As it should be.
In my book picking up your shellcasings is at most a ministerial fault. It's certainly not the sort of thing to use to prosecute a couple of Border Patrol guys in a narcotics case where it's clear they didn't steal the loot.
Unless that plug-ugly US Attorney can come up with some evidence that the Border Patrol guys were stealing the loot, I have to conclude that her ONLY interest in this case is her boyfriend (somewhere) in the business. She should be watched carefully ~ as should the judge. Corruption in these drug-related cases is known, and in particular near Mexican border crossing situations.
Is this one of Ernesto's girls? Can't believe a macho guy like him can leave the staff alone (wink, wink).
Kinda reminds me of Lincoln haters in the midst of the civil war...let's teach him a thing or 2 and elect Democrat Davis.
We're not defending obstruction of justice, we are defending the freedom of two men who were acting, in their own words, in self defense. I am going to believe them when they say they saw a weapon and thought they were being fired upon. So they picked up some shell casings, whoopdie frigin doo. They didn't find the perp and thought it was a non event. The guy they shot was an armed invader against this country, I wish they would have offed the bastard.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.