Posted on 01/23/2007 2:15:57 AM PST by Man50D
Imprisoned former Border Patrol agent Ignacio Ramos not only is being held in prison for trying to halt a fleeing drug smuggler, he's being held in solitary confinement treated as if he were Charles Manson, a relative told WND in an exclusive interview.
Joe Loya, Ramos' father-in-law, told WND that Ramos is being held in conditions usually reserved for extraordinarily dangerous or trouble-making inmates.
"They have Ignacio in a 6 foot by 12 foot cell," Loya told WND in a telephone interview from El Paso. "There are no bars, just a steel door, and no window. He has no television and nothing to do. He is fed in his cell and let out only for one hour after 23 hours in the cell. He is then taken to a room with a television where he is allowed to watch the TV for an hour before he is returned to solitary confinement."
Loya said his daughter met with her husband for an hour on Friday.
"Ignacio was heavily shackled," Loya said, "and he could barely hold the telephone to speak."
Loya explained that his daughter met with her husband in the prison in a room where they were separated by a glass barrier.
"It was just like Ignacio was Charlie Manson," Loya explained. "My daughter couldn't believe how her husband was being treated."
Loya told WND that the family believes that the federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, introduced into the trial inaccurate or incomplete testimony provided by the drug dealer, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, as well as from other Border Patrol agents who the federal prosecutors had pressured prior to the trial.
"I can't believe how Ignacio is being treated," Loya told WND. "He has been a federal agent for years and he has been involved in many drug busts. I am convinced that the U.S. attorney has a grudge against my son-in-law and I cannot believe how mean and determined Johnny Sutton has been to see my son imprisoned for doing nothing more than trying to stop a drug smuggler he and Jose Compean believed was armed and dangerous."
Loya explained to WND that Aldrete-Davila had beaten and cut Compean in the struggle that occurred in the ditch as Aldrete-Davila was trying to escape.
"The prosecutors say that Compean was going to beat Aldrete-Davila with his shotgun. How could that be? Aldrete-Davila is over six feet tall and Compean is about five feet five inches. Compean would have been afraid that Aldrete-Davila would have taken the shotgun from him and beat him or shot him with it. The story at the trial that the prosecutors offered the jury didn’t make any sense."
Loya told WND that he had sat through the entire trial. A complete transcript of the trial is not yet available and Loya told WND that the U.S. attorney's office told him that the trial transcript would cost $3 per page. "At over 3,000 pages, that means we have to come up with $9,000 just to get a copy of the transcript. And besides, it isn't available yet and the prosecutors' office can’t tell us when it will be available."
Ramos and Compean are in federal prison today, after they were ordered to jail by U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Cordone. Cordone dismissed the defense argument that the two Border Patrol were no "flight risk" while they were waiting appeal. Judge Compean also denied Ramos and Compean's request for a new trial after there were reports that three jurors said they were coerced to vote guilty.
The White House to date has declined to intervene, and the talking points continue to stress themes articulated by Sutton, who in an exclusive interview last week with WND claimed the two agents "shot 15 times at an unarmed, fleeing man," after which the agents "decided to lie about it, cover it up, destroy the evidence, pick up all the shell casings and throw them away where we couldn't find them, destroy the crime scene and then file a false report."
I guess the official policy of the Clinton/Bush clan is to kill Christians for KLA drug runners and jail border patrol agents for Mexican drug runners.
This whole fiasco will do wonders for recruitment.
Someone needs to be investigating U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton. Is he a Clinton appointee, one of those who took the place of all the US Attornies Clinton fired when he came into office? Who is pulling Sutton's strings? Has his family been threatened by the drug lords? Or is he on the take from them? This entire situation just doesn't smell right.
".......Starting with that roach, the drug smuggler Aldrete-Davila, and possibly extending to the U.S. Attorney's office."
What you've just observed here is THE explanation of why the southern American border is a sieve......and woe betide anyone interfering with "the business" in anything more than a superficial way.
and putting him in steal shackles protects him how? Get real take the blinders off. Someone's on a Power Trip.
Proprietor is one Al Giordano. Likes to keep saying in his policy wraparounds, quoting Simon Bolivar, that Latin America is the Real America and that Spanish speakers are the Real Americans. Which makes us -- what?
He's catering to Mexican nativism and Aztlanism, that's for sure.
A Texas Bush Pal.
In the story linked above in Cyropaedia's post, Sutton is a product of the Houston legal scene, who got a policy job under Gov. Bush and has been a Bushman ever since and tight with AG Gonzales.
See my last to Cyropaedia about the source, though.
But it is We the People who have to speack out on this immigration problem. and until more AMERICANS stand up and stop trying to be so PC about everything. It's Black and White. Right or Wrong. No Grey No inbetween. It's our Border and We Should DEMAND it be Closed. No More Illegals. No More Mexican Flags allowed waving in our Streets. No more of Our Tax Money going to pay for illegals coming over here and popping out babies left and right that will eventually end in our demise. This has to stop. Ramos is a Hero really, He just opened a few more EYES of the People here in this Country. Pardon? Set them Free. with a clean recoord and a few Medals of Our Appreciation.
Given the way he runs the DoJ, aren't you glad Gonzales was never nominated to the Supreme Court...?
Most prisons put jailed peace officers and the like into segregated cells rather than in the general population to protect them from inmates.
The segregated cells are built for serious offenders and don't provide many amenities. I doubt there is a prison around that would have comfortable private facilities for segregated prisoners and certainly not for peace officers lest they be accused of coddling them with special privileges.
IT's a difficult situation, but the family wouldn't like the alternative either--daily exposure to prison gangs, many of them illegal aliens who would have a grudge against BP officers.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/22/ldt.01.html
TJ Bonner with the border patrol explains this mess well,especially the SECOND arrest of the perp for smuggling drugs.
CNN aired 1/22/07
BONNER: But facts of this case do not bear out Mr. Sutton's version. The medical evidence from the army colonel who removed the slug shows that that person wasn't running away. He was turned at the agents just like they said pointing a gun at them. In essence, Johnny Sutton took the word of a drug smuggler over the word of two sworn law enforcement officers.
DOBBS: And took on, really, quite a vigorous prosecution here. Because that really is the only evidence he had. Is the word of that drug dealer.
BONNER: Right, not just a prosecution, it was a persecution of two innocent men.
DOBBS: The idea that this could happen is just, to me, astonishing. Let's go to another aspect of this. In which Sutton says, "My office would have much preferred see Aldrete convicted and sent to prison," referring to the drug smuggler that had to be given extended immunity because have been given immunity on the million dollars of drugs in the incident with Compean, subsequently had to extend that to another effort to bring more drugs into the country, "because the agents could not identify him, found no fingerprints, could not tie him to the van and did not apprehend him after shooting him, the case against Aldrete could not be proven."
BONNER: Well, Johnny Sutton had no problem locating him in Mexico and offering him immunity, why couldn't he issue a warrant for his arrest?
Certainly he would have been back in the new future as soon as law enforcement officials found him, charged him with that and throw him in prison.
DOBBS: The idea that this Border Patrol is now, actually notice has been served. U.S. Attorney's Office doesn't care about $2 million in drugs. Doesn't care about an illegal alien drug smuggler but does care about two agents who serve the public, served honorably in the Border Patrol. There's no -- now, let's get this straight. There's no previous blemish on either of these agent's records is that correct?
BONNER: That's correct.
DOBBS: They've been described as rogue agents by those pushing this investigation. Do you know how that could come to be?
BONNER: Only if you believe the word of a drug smuggler over the word of two agents and ignore all the physical proof can you come to that conclusion. It's just remarkable that they would grant this drug smuggler immunity, not once but twice for smuggling millions of dollars worth of drugs into the country. It sends a terrible message not just to the Border Patrol, Lou, but to every law enforcement officer in America.
DOBBS: You have suggested that there is evidence that was not presented in the trial that would basically have given these men their freedom. What is that evidence? Why wasn't it presented?
BONNER: This was sealed evidence. There is evidence and I'm not sure if I can really get into this because some of the evidence has been under a gag order and those who are aware of the evidence were threatened with contempt of court.
DOBBS: By whom, the judge?
BONNER: By the judge, yes.
DOBBS: And the federal court on a criminal trial, they're threatened with contempt of court.
BONNER: Yes.
DOBBS: Why?
BONNER: One can only wonder. It seem it's you know, I'm not one of these black helicopter conspiracy people. But one can only wonder.
DOBBS: Well, let's go beyond wonder. Why -- can you give us a sense of what this information goes to?
BONNER: Well, some of the information goes to the sealed indictment regarding the second load of marijuana, of about a thousand pounds of marijuana. DEA agents were involved in that arrest. And there were other people who were called as witnesses for the defense but not allowed to testify.
DOBBS: But not allowed to testify. For reasons of? I mean ...
BONNER: For reasons I can't even begin to imagine. Why not give these agents a fair trial and give them the opportunity to present their best case?
DOBBS: And how many people would know about what is in this sealed evidence?
BONNER: I would imagine that there is a fair number of people because it was a fairly large bust. So you had DEA agents involved. You had other co-conspirators.
BONNER: That is the reality, Lou and it's a very sad reality for every American that there are forces at play that want our borders wide open.
BONNER: I would like to see the president of the United States pardon these men. Every day they remain in prison, they're in jeopardy. Right now they're in lock-up, isolation for 23 hours a day, Lou. It's criminal what has happened to these two fine heroes.
DOBBS: And we know where the responsibility rests. T.J., thank you very much. T.J. Bonner.
Now to be clear, we have asked and we did ask U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton who prosecuted this case to join us here on this program. He's declined.
" This entire situation just doesn't smell right."
You thought, "Hold your nose and vote Republican" was just a figure of speech?
That Drug Dealer belongs in prison, NOT these two men.
sw
ping
Precisely! But these knee jerking anti-immigration advocates will jump all over it just the same. It makes for great issue advocacy claims and keeps the fake outrage alive and well.
Protocols for every prisoner involve a period of adjustment, and for ex-cops and prison guards, it involves a hell of a lot more. I doubt he will be placed in the general population for some time to come, if ever.
I gotta say, that I am really getting tired of all this crap.
This whole thing stinks to high heaven. The fact that a drug smuggler was given immunity and his testimony was accepted as fact is plain wrong. Bush had better pardon these guys or his legacy is finished. If they are harmed, in jail, in any way, then Mr. Bush will have to answer for this mess. This open border policy is crazy and these actions against our own agents is criminal.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txw/us_attorney/
Johnny Sutton, United States Attorney
On October 25, 2001, Johnny Sutton was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve as United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas. On November 30, 2001, the United States Senate confirmed the President’s appointment.
As United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Johnny Sutton represents the United States in criminal and civil matters within the District. The Western Judicial District of Texas is composed of more than 93,000 square miles, approximately 660 miles of border with the Republic of Mexico, 68 Texas Counties, and three of Texas’ major metropolitan areas, San Antonio, El Paso and Austin. The District has over 260 employees including 118 Assistant United States Attorneys.
Mr. Sutton also serves as the chairman of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC) which plays a significant role in determining policies and programs of the Department and in carrying out the national goals set by the President and the Attorney General.
The AGAC consists of 17 members appointed by the Attorney General and represents different judicial circuits, various-sized offices, and expertise. Mr. Sutton also serves on the Border and Immigration Law Enforcement Subcommittee of the AGAC.
Prior to becoming United States Attorney, Mr. Sutton served as an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and as a Policy Coordinator for the Bush-Cheney Transition Team assigned to the Department of Justice.
Mr. Sutton served as the Criminal Justice Policy Director for then-Governor George W. Bush from 1995-2000, advising the Governor on all criminal justice issues, with specific oversight in the areas of criminal law, prison capacity and management, parole operations and legislative initiatives.
Prior to his service in the Governor’s office, Mr. Sutton worked as a criminal trial prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office (Houston, Texas) for eight years. As a prosecutor, he was lead trial counsel in over sixty felony cases, including numerous capital murder, aggravated robbery, and sexual assault cases. He is fluent in Spanish, having appeared as a television commentator for the Spanish language network Univision during the Selena homicide trial.
Mr. Sutton is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in International Business in 1983, and the University of Texas School of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1987. As an undergraduate, he played baseball for the Longhorns and was the starting left-fielder on the 1983 National Championship team.
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