I think Compean freaked (for whatever reason), and Ramos took a fall because (in the heat of the moment) he tried to cover-up in order to protect his partner.
Best analysis I have seen. These guys are overworked, underrespected, and constantly wondering whether they have Carlos, a poor peasant who thinks $6.00/hour is a dream job, or some MS13 punk who deserves to be shot, no matter which side of the border he is on. I can COMPLETELY understand shooting the guy.
However, investigative procedures for law enforcement are there for a reason. Otherwise, you have cops charging into the home of a 90 year old Atlanta woman and killing her..., no, wait, we already HAVE that.
It is precisely because cops DO have this kind of power that we must have ways of making the power accountable.
Maybe they flipped out, and were just trying to protect each other's jobs. That is my guess. I would have been very lenient on them, as no one was killed and the guy who was shot was a dirtbag. However, losing a job trumps prison every single time. Bad choices. I wish Bush would commute their sentences, but he now faces a "no win" situation due to the normal hysteria that surrounds anything that has the word "border" in it.