There could be other possibilities. Perhaps they tried to bring it up in court and weren't allowed to. There have been multiple reports that certain agents weren't allowed to testify, others were given immmunity to testify, information relative to the violent border environment or the history of the agents was not allowed, etc. Time will tell--hopefully.
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Austin American Statesman. Austin, Tex.: Feb 17, 2006. pg. B.3
(snip)
EL PASO
Judge restricts border testimony
Lawyers in the case of two Border Patrol agents accused of shooting a suspected drug smuggler and covering it up must ask a judge before they can mention other border incidents, including a Jan. 23 standoff in which men carrying weapons and wearing Mexican military uniforms helped suspected smugglers escape to Mexico.
Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean have been charged in the shooting of Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, a Mexican national, during a scuffle last February in Fabens. Jury selection begins today.
Prosecutors last week asked federal Judge Kathleen Cardone to exclude mentions of border confrontations and incidents of border violence. This week, Cardone said lawyers would need to ask her before any such mentions could be made.
Other incidents are irrelevant to the incident at hand.
If the jury convicted them based on the facts of this incident, then I tend to believe they screwed up or had really bad lawyers.
You are aware o the recent controversy at the U.S. Border in El Paso. Two Border Patrol agents, Ignacio Ramos, and Jose Compean, were sentenced to 10+ years in Federal Prison for shooting an alien, drug smuggler...in the line of duty.
Much of this controversy swirls around the lead prosecutor in this case....U.S> Assistant Attorney (AUSA) Debra Kanof... and her role in the conviction of these two agents. An article in the El Paso Times on October 11, 2006 titled "Judge turns down delay in sentencing agents" by Louie Gilot, outlines allegations by the two convicted agents that Ms. Kanof fabricated lies in their case/trial which led to their conviction.
At 1st blush, these allegations seem to be the normal fodder of offense vs defense. However, in Ms. Kanof's case, this is not the first time that her unethical and deceptive practices in courtroom proceedings have been called into question. With her, it would appear all too common, and she has a widespread reputation in the El Paso legal community for dishonest and shockingly atrocious courtroom behavior.
One recent revealing case which she prosecuted with her infamous, dishonest prosecutorial style, has been published on the Internet under the site name
www.doctorbfiles.com. This site has an exhaustively complete filing of the entire case which AUSA Kanof brought against a prominent El Paso doctor. What is so
disturbing about this particular case is that this doctor has been able to prove, through the use of extensive case documents, that AUSA Kanof , alone and in conjunction with other federal agents including the District Court Judge David Briones, repeatedly lied to the grand jury and to the petit jury, encouraged prosecution witnesses to lie to the court with their testimonies, and geerally sought to undermine the integrity and fundamental fairness of the criminal proceedings. You have to read the allegations and the evidence that supports them to believe the extet to which AUSA Kanof attempted to bend the proceedings to her personal will, justice be damned. This all can be appreciated at this website, at the following locations:
SectionV: exhibit i under the subsection of the
Lies of AUSA Debra Kanof .
exhibits j. and k. which are the
affidavits and the other proofs that support
the allegations i exhibit i.
Section V. exhibit k.,k.,k.,k.,k. which is a copy of the El Paso Times news article of October 11, 2006.
Updates 23 and 38 will give you a general flavor of what has, and is transpiring in this ongoing saga, as this case is still on appeal.
I am making you aware of this website, and these facts about AUSA Kanof, because it is very likely that a more than cursory examination of her tactics and
behavior in the case of the Border Patrol agents will reveal many lies, deceptions, and inconsistencies...which these agents have said are there. This doctor's website and his information concerning AUSA Kanof would appear to corroborate that AUSA Kaof is a conspiratorial liar and that her participation in the Border Patrol case needs to be scrutinized in a more minute fashion. Could it be that her over zealousness and her need to co-opt the justice system have led to dangerous precedents being set on
the behavior of our Border Patrol at the worst possible time in our history? Please look into this. You will not be disappointed by the story you initially find as concerns AUSA Kanof, nor the potential for a much bigger exposistion of our problem with a renegade prosecutorial system on one section of our border.