Posted on 01/18/2007 2:13:50 PM PST by alienken
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVASION USA Congressmen appeal to Justice for border agents As prison sentences loom, Republican lawmakers petition attorney general
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: January 10, 2007 1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez As two border patrol agents face the commencement of prison terms for shooting and wounding a man smuggling drugs into the U.S, five congressman are calling on Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez to intervene. The lawmakers have asked President Bush to pardon Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos, who were sentenced to 12 years and 11 years, respectively, in October. But the sentences are scheduled to begin Jan. 17, and in lieu of a pardon, the congressmen are asking Gonzalez to request the Justice Department to direct federal prosecutors not to oppose a court motion to keep the agents free on bond during the appeals process.
The drug smuggler was granted immunity for his testimony.
Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.; Ted Poe, R-Texas; Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C.; Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.; and Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.; will announce their effort at an 11 a.m. news conference today in the nation's capitol.
(Story continues below)
The lawmakers said in a statement "several discrepancies in the government's case strongly question whether justice has been served, and permitting these men to be incarcerated in the interim puts their lives at risk."
The congressman will be joined today by Compean, former Border Patrol agent Andy Ramirez of Friends of the Border Patrol and T.J. Bonner and Rich Pierce of the National Border Patrol Council.
Bush has received a letter about the case from more than 50 Congress members, and Grassfire.org has an online petition calling on the president to pardon the agents.
Rohrabacher told WND last month he considers the case "the greatest miscarriage of justice that I've seen in my career."
"Two brave Border Patrol agents trying to enforce the president's nonsensical border policy ending up being sent to prison, while an illegal alien drug smuggler is given immunity and walks free," he said.
White House press secretary Tony Snow has said he cannot comment on presidential pardons.
As WND has 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.
Ramos is an eight-year veteran of the U.S. Naval Reserve and a former nominee for Border Patrol Agent of the Year.
On Feb. 17, 2005, Ramos responded to a request for back-up from Compean, who noticed a suspicious van near the levee road along the Rio Grande River near the Texas town of Fabens, about 40 miles east of El Paso. A third agent also joined the pursuit.
Fleeing was an illegal alien, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila of Mexico. Unknown to the growing number of Border Patrol agents converging on Fabens, Aldrete-Davila's van was carrying 800 pounds of marijuana.
Aldrete-Davila stopped the van on a levee, jumped out and started running toward the river. When he reached the other side of the levee, he was met by Compean who had anticipated the smuggler's attempt to get back to Mexico.
"We both yelled out for him to stop, but he wouldn't stop, and he just kept running," Ramos told California's Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
"At some point during the time where I'm crossing the canal, I hear shots being fired," Ramos said. "Later, I see Compean on the ground, but I keep running after the smuggler."
At that point, Ramos said, Aldrete-Davila turned toward him, pointing what looked like a gun.
"I shot," Ramos said. "But I didn't think he was hit, because he kept running into the brush and then disappeared into it. Later, we all watched as he jumped into a van waiting for him. He seemed fine. It didn't look like he had been hit at all."
The U.S. government filed charges against Ramos and Compean after giving full immunity to Aldrete-Davila and paying for his medical treatment at an El Paso hospital.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas issued a statement in September arguing "the defendants were prosecuted because they had fired their weapons at a man who had attempted to surrender by holding his open hands in the air, at which time Agent Compean attempted to hit the man with the butt of Compean's shotgun, causing the man to run in fear of what the agents would do to him next."
The statement said, "Although both agents saw that the man was not armed, the agents fired at least 15 rounds at him while he was running away from them, hitting him once."
Ramirez of Friends of the Border Patrol said the drug smuggler has "fully contributed to the destruction of two brave agents and their families and has sent a very loud message to the other Border Patrol agents: If you confront a smuggler, this is what will happen to you."
Pres. Bush is sending a message to other ajents be nice to mexicans I like them.
Why are you resorting to putting words in my mouth? Weak position, I'd guess.
Their claim of overhearing "someone" say a unanimous verdict is necessary is sketchy at best.
Like I said, thanks for being consistent.
More tactical nonsense while avoiding my question to you.
What info was kept out of court?
Tehr eis no way that the Open Borders people who are in control will allow these Border Patrol agents to be pardoned. Like our troops, they are designated to be punished severely for doing their job. It's offensive and it subverts this country, but it's the way it is.
I'd vote to impeach over that alone.
Bush's refusal to defend our nation from invasion is worthy of impeachment.
Both men had highly competent and well-paid lawyers.
Are you trying to say that those lawyers did NOT present all exculpatory evidence available for their clients?
Or are you refering to the fact that, since the trial, a lot of false information has been published to make it look like the BP agents were railroaded, and a few jurors think that's real and means something.
Where have you been -- we could have used you on a few of the other threads on this subject today.
There were several felony convictions, actually.
Removal of evidence
Falsifying reports
That equals Obstruction of Justice and it's mandatory sentences.
They shot a Mexican drug dealer trying to smuggle drugs into our country and crossing our border illegally. He was told to stop more than once before they shot him. They had no choice but to do what they did. Tehy should be pardoned. Unless you're an amnesty-loving, open-borders type like Gonzalez. Then they haven't been punished severely enough.
As a practical matter, of course, only the House of Representative can hold such a vote and, not being a member of same, the issue is moot. However, as to your statement that I shouldn't be allowed to vote, shove it, pal. Bush is a dismal failure on this issue and has flagrantly ignored his duties as far as protecting the border. Americans are suffering and, indeed, dying daily for his failure.
Bush has received a letter about the case from more than 50 Congress members.
What a loser.
More jibberish from a factless malcontent.
Care to source that support for Mexican cartels?
Meanwhile, you're defending felons...hypocrite.
We could sure do without your presence here. You are a disgrace to this site.
So, you think shooting an unidentified unarmed man in the back just for running away from you should be legal?
At the time they shot the man, they had not ascertained his name, his identity, nor did they search his van. He had committed no crime. His only "offense" was to not pull over his van immediately, and then to run away from the agents.
For that, they took 15 shots at him, hitting him once -- and then hid the evidence and file a false report of the incident. Oh, and got their buddies to lie as well to cover up the incident.
I don't care if the guy was a mass murderer, they didn't KNOW anything about the guy when they shot him.
Obstruction of Justice is illegal. Always.
No, I'm simply stating when criminals have more rights than law enforcement officials who may have overreacted and then get sentenced to longer sentences than any the smuggler may have faced, it smells.
Maybe it's just me. The border zone is a war zone, some folks just don't like to admit it. The numbers of deaths on both sides of the border show that in and of itself.
You feel the reports of the jurors that commented after the trial are without basis, I presume.
No problem, The WOD will continue to claim more victims on both sides in the future, it is not a war many would chose to fight even if they are sworn to do so.
Do you a have a copy of this message? Sheesh.
I don't have to put any words into your mouth.
The words I see coming out of your posts do quite a good enough of a job in and of themselves, imo.
WHen they shot the guy, he was just an unarmed guy driving a van who ran away from them when pulled over. They didn't know he was illegal, didn't know what was in the van, and had no evidence he had committed a crime.
Running away from a border agent is not a capital offense -- but these men could well have killed the guy if they were better with their weapons.
You are encouraging more felons if you would think about it.
I agree, but he took away my voting rights/sarc.
Those people who are so quick to tell others to shut up if they disagree go down in their own flames soon enough. Don't let it bother you.
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.