Former U.S. Border Patrol agent Ignacio Ramos embraced his wife, Monica Ramos, two days before he was sentenced to 11 years in prison (Courtesy El Paso Times)
Posted on 10/25/2006 9:43:42 PM PDT by Exton1
Former U.S. Border Patrol agent Ignacio Ramos embraced his wife, Monica Ramos, two days before he was sentenced to 11 years in prison (Courtesy El Paso Times) |
WASHINGTON – A dozen members of the House of Representatives have written to President Bush demanding an investigation of the case against two Border Patrol agents sentenced to 11 and 12 years in prison for the pursuit and shooting of a drug smuggler and calling for a presidential pardon of the pair.
U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Cardone in El Paso, Texas, sentenced Jose Alonso Compean to 12 years in prison and Ignacio Ramos to 11 years and one day despite a plea by their attorney for a new trial after three jurors said they were coerced into voting guilty in the case.
As WND reported, a federal jury convicted Compean, 28, and Ramos, 37, in March after a two-week trial on charges of causing serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and a civil rights violation.
A congressional hearing on the case is being planned for Nov. 13.
The letter to Bush was signed by Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla., Rep. Gary Miller, R-Calif., Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va. and Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., the chairman of the House Immigration Reform Caucus.
"Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean attempted to apprehend a Mexican drug smuggler who brought 743 pounds of marijuana across the U.S. border last year," wrote the congressmen. "The two agents were prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office and the smuggler was granted full immunity to testify against the agents. Both men were convicted by a Texas jury for firing shots at the fleeing smuggler, who, they believed, carried a gun."
 Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean (KFOX-TV, El Paso, Texas) |
The letter questioned the accuracy of the charges against the agents and the conduct of the prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton.
"We ask that a full investigation of this case be ordered immediately," they went on to say in the letter sent to the White House yesterday. "We are confident that during such an investigation you will find that these Border Patrol agents were acting within the scope of their duty and were unjustly prosecuted. Also, we ask that you use your power of presidential pardon, as granted by the United States Constitution in Article II, Section 2, to pardon these two Border Patrol agents. We understand these requests usually are for those that have already completed their sentences; however, we feel in this case it would be a miscarriage of justice to send these two Border Patrol agents to prison for protecting our nation's borders from an illegal drug smuggler."
The letter notes that both agents have been ordered to surrender themselves to federal authorities Jan. 17 unless action is taken to overturn "this unjust result."
"This is not the message that our legal system should be giving to the drug cartels that are smuggling drugs, people and terrorists across our borders," said Tancredo, author of "In Mortal Danger," a book that says the insecure border and immigration enforcement policies represent the No. 1 crisis in the U.S. today.
Meanwhile, the Federation for American Immigration Reform has launched a petition drive to get Bush to reopen the case.
The group cites a statement by Rep. Jones who said: "The Justice Department's outrageous prosecution does nothing but tie the hands of our Border Patrol and prevent them from securing America against a flood of illegal immigrants, drugs, counterfeit goods and, quite possibly, terrorists. This demoralizing prosecution puts the rights of illegal alien drug smugglers ahead of our homeland security and undermines the critical mission of better enforcing current immigration laws."
Joe Loya, agent Ramos' father-in-law, has created a website on the case and is also encouraging Americans to write to Bush urging a pardon. He is also publicizing a fund for Ramos' family.
So far, the White House has resisted calls for reopening the investigation and dismissed questions about a pardon raised by WND White House correspondent Les Kinsolving. Even asking whether the two agents should be pardoned was "nonsensical," in the words of Bush spokesman Tony Snow..
"That's an unanswerable question, Les," said Snow yesterday. "The president is the person who is responsible for pardons. You can tell the network, which made you ask that question, that it is nonsensical."
Some people get really pissed off when the term Jorge Bush is used. If he doesn't pardon these guys then I guess we know where he stands....
Couldn't have said it better.
ping
Snow says question on agents' prison time 'nonsensical'
Note all congressmen signing the letter to the President are Republicans. The libs are too busy lieing for their re-election.
It is my understanding that the 2 agents failed to promptly prepare a report of their use of firearms. The failure is an Administrative matter, not a criminal one. However, their failure to immediately prepare the report cast aspersions on their performance and the veracity of their subsequent statements and caused the conviction.
Wow, some congressmen with s backbone. YES! maybe there is some hope here.
This is an outrage. What is wrong with this country when this kind of thing happens? We just had a cop convicted because he shot a guy who was trying to accelerate away as the cop was hanging from the window. It was unfortunate but it wasn't something that should have resulted in a cops conviction. The first trial was a mistrial. The jury, even though they found him guilty, only fined him $2,500 which shows they only gave a token verdict. Who would want to be a cop or a border patrol agent in this kind of environment where race baiter's more than anything else help determine the verdicts?
This was posted earlier:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1725891/posts?q=1&&page=1#1
Yeah. And notice that they are all Republicans!
July 9, 2003
SENATOR HUTCHISON INTRODUCES BUSH NOMINEES FOR
TEXAS' WESTERN DISTRICT AT JUDICIARY HEARING
WASHINGTON, DC -- At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison delivered remarks on behalf of three prominent Texans recommended by Sens. Hutchison and John Cornyn and nominated by President Bush to be U.S. District Court Judges for the state's Western district: Kathleen Cardone and Frank Montalvo for El Paso and Xavier Rodriguez for San Antonio.
"It is my pleasure to introduce three great Texans nominated by President Bush to serve as U.S. District Court Judges for the Western District of Texas," the Senator said. "I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of their nominations."
Following are Senator Hutchison's remarks regarding Kathleen Cardone for El Paso:
"The first nominee I'd like to introduce today is Kathleen Cardone. If confirmed, Judge Cardone will preside over a federal court in El Paso. I am confident she will serve the federal bench with distinction.
correct, once that is made clear this conviction appears to have something of merit.
Come on Batman Sutton grow the f- up and drain the bureaucracy from your brain.
Sometimes I think these "upright" prosecutors are psychopaths who are just as dangerous as the criminals. I don't care if the guy is an up standing G.W. Bush supporter. If you can't shoot to stop a potentially armed drug smuggler who not only crossed the border illegally but refused to stop then why are we spending any money at all on border protection? Might as well import some cops from England with their little clubs and whistles.
Then adding insult to injury this "Clark kent" went to Mexico to give the drug smuggler immunity? What is wrong with the people in the misjustice department? I swear they live in an entirely different world than most of us. This should have been a case where the agents faced temporary suspension and then were reinstated not 11 years in prison for doing their job. This is one more indicator that we are heading toward a brink in this country. It is like the charging of soldiers for equipment that was lost when their legs were blown off? What kind of imbecile bean counter has the impunity to even consider such a thing?
http://www.elpasotimes.com/search/ci_4519823
A pardon t this point would be an admission of committing a crime for which you are now pardoned.
I notice all the senators asking for an investigation = the right place to start and the right body to start it - are all republican.
You might want to save your ire for the democrat senators who are sitting on their butts.
And you might think that just maybe these men want to be exonerated - not 'pardoned', If all else fails, then it's time to think of pardons/
This is all designed to scare the others from taking action. Bush will do NOTHING about it.
Pshaw. Had they filed the papers at once, would this have come to more than a slap on the wrist? Unlikely.
http://www.americanfreedomriders.com
http://www.borderconsensus.com
Snow's snow job days are over, citizens are fighting back and looks like the volume is going to be turned up to LOUD.....
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