Posted on 02/10/2007 12:32:11 PM PST by NapkinUser
Washington - Former Border Patrol agents Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos have become famous in conservative circles, in a case which shows the power of talk radio and the blogosphere.
The two agents are serving prison sentences after being convicted of shooting a suspected drug smuggler and trying to cover up the incident. Many lawmakers in Washington are asking President Bush to pardon the agents, who they say were convicted wrongly for protecting the border of the United States against criminal intruders.
The agents were sentenced to 12 and 11 years in prison, respectively.
The calls for an executive pardon and a congressional investigation into the case intensified this week following reports that Ramos was assaulted in a Mississippi prison.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, Republican of Colorado, an ardent critic of illegal immigration who is pondering a run for the White House, spent about an hour with Ramos at the jail on Friday and said he had been severely beaten, with deep bruises along his arm, cuts and bruises on his chest and back, and bruises on his knees.
Ramos told the lawmaker that he had been pummeled and kicked by five or six inmates on Saturday in a planned attack while others watched after they saw him on an episode of the television show America's Most Wanted, Tancredo said. Ramos did not get medical attention until Monday and a CAT-scan showed no brain damage, the lawmaker added.
"This guy should never be walking around in an orange jumpsuit with handcuffs, he should be home with his family," Tancredo said, shortly after leaving the prison. "This is a horrible travesty."
Ramos' attorney, David L. Botsford, said that a motion is pending at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to get bail for Ramos while he plans an appeal.
A similar request was rejected by a district court, said Botsford, a prominent criminal defense attorney in Austin.
The plight of the two Border Patrol officers has become a major cause on conservative talk shows and on Web sites that promote more enforcement against illegal immigration.
The suspected drug smuggler, Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, had entered the United States illegally in a van that contained more than 700 pounds of marijuana. The prosecution contends that Compean shot at him 14 times and Ramos fired once, hitting Aldrete-Davila in the buttocks as he tried to run away on foot.
The agents contend that they saw an object in Aldrete-Davila's hands that looked like a gun and that he was pointing it towards them.
Ramos and Compean were convicted a year ago on several charges including assault with a deadly weapon and intentionally defacing a crime scene. Aldrete-Davila was given immunity in the case to testify against the agents and has filed a multi- million dollar lawsuit against the U.S. government.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, said this week that "the sentences in this case are too extreme given the criminal nature of the defendant and his possession of large quantities of drugs."
In a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, she also said that the "aggressive prosecution of Border Patrol agents has a chilling effect on their ability to carry out their duties and on the morale of all agents."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, said this week that "the sentences in this case are too extreme given the criminal nature of the defendant and his possession of large quantities of drugs."
Some Conservative.
"Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, said this week that "the sentences in this case are too extreme given the criminal nature of the defendant and his possession of large quantities of drugs."
Even a busted clock is right twice a day...
There is nothing Conservative about disregarding a jury's verdict.
Let the appeal process decide the agent's fate.
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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(pounds head against wall)
Is that really you, PRND21?
That sounds kinda strange coming from you, imo. ;-)
Fineswine got it right.
The news that two of the agents who testified were found to have lied and been fired is chilling. This prosecutor is interested in the score card, not justice. Why haven't their lawyers filed an immediate appeal based on this?
Respect for the jury's decision and the appeals process has always been my position.
The Pardon talk is ridiculous.
So if they were wrongly convicted, but an appeals court supports the conviction, you are OK with that?
How about let the sentences stand and commute them at some point in the not too distant future and ensure they are not dumped back into a hostile prison population in the mean time?
Does that surprise you seeing me offer that?
Feinstein is on this because it makes Bush look bad.
"The Pardon talk is ridiculous."
So every pardon Bush has given since taking charge is ridiculous?
If supporting these two agents isn't conservative, why are only the most conservative republicans in the house of representatives calling for Bush to do it? 81 of them and probably not a single RINO I'd be willing to bet. Most certainly not with Poe, Rohrabacher, Tancredo and Hunter.
If their appeal fails, they weren't wrongly convicted.
This is about law, not emotion.
Oh, I know you don't believe that the "obstruction' thing has been a 2 way street as things further unfold, but I wold expect the appeals process may yield more insight into the events that occurred long after the day the butt shot occurred..
Time heals all wounds , they say, and 5 million dolars helps quite a bit too.
Maybe the perp won't have to make any more runs across the border with vans loaded full of dope.
would
She's not alone.
Bush's fault for being a gutless weasle on immigration in general and this case in particular. I wish had not voted for him.
So now you've been reduced to repeating Johnny Sutton's talking points verbatim? Ouch.
Sutton also sent a law enforcement officer to jail for shooting at a car who tried to run him over and having one of the bullets hit an illegal alien hiding in the trunk of the car. What a great man.
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