Exclusive Guest Post For Polipundit: Free Compean And Ramos By Duncan Hunter

PoliPundit ^ | 3/5/07 | Duncan Hunter

[pissant]

I would like to thank Polipundit and Michael Illions, who has been helping out my campaign, for giving me the opportunity to write a guest post about the injustice that has been done to two of our border guards, Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos, both of whom have been sentenced to jail for more than a decade each.

Now certainly our border patrol agents are not above the law and it is not acceptable for them to abuse or mistreat illegal aliens. That being said, the Border Patrol is America’s first line of defense against the terrorists, drug smugglers, and gangs who try to illegally enter the United States. Acting as the first line of defense for our country, the men and women of the Border Patrol are in a very dangerous position. Every day they risk their lives guarding our borders.

I have read the relevant portions of the trial transcript. Agents Ramos and Compean have a version of the facts that is different than the drug smuggler’s. However, it is not necessary to determine whose testimony is more believable (although I find the Border Agents’ testimony more credible than the drug smuggler’s) for this reason: even if you believe the drug smuggler’s testimony that he was slightly wounded while escaping to Mexico, his wounding cannot, by the greatest stretch of criminal justice, justify the 11 and 12 year prison sentences given to Ramos and Compean. The average convicted murderer in America spends less than 8 1/2 years behind bars. That means that Ramos and Compean have been given murder sentences for the slight wounding of a drug smuggler. Thus, the prison sentences of these two agents represent a severe injustice.

For those who point out that the agents picked up the expended brass from their pistols after the incident and did not report it to their superiors, the answer is simply that picking up brass and failure to report is not murder and does not justify a murder sentence in the federal penitentiary. As a member of the Armed Services Committee for 26 years, I have never seen a Marine or soldier treated as severely as Ramos and Compean.

We cannot turn our back on Agents Compean and Ramos or the rest of the public servants in the U.S. Border Patrol and that’s why I urge George Bush to pardon both agents. I intend to keep attention focused on this case to insure their safety while they are in prison and to secure their release as soon as possible so they can return home to their families. That is also why I introduced H.R. 563, which would pardon Compean and Ramos. The bill already has more than 85 sponsors in the House. If that bill fails and President Bush does not do the right thing, I pledge that if I’m elected President, one of my first acts will be to grant pardons to both agents.

[AndrewC]

I've not finished yet. There is a NASA link which shows ballistics. It factors in wind. You can play with it and see that wind does affect the trajectory of an object. We know that the wind is from the east. It will blow things away from the levee when the object is to the Mexican side of the levee. I do not think that the effect displayed is entirely accurate as to the magnitude of the effect of the wind, but qualitatively it is correct(and of course, rocket science). The whole point: the casings would have been blown towards the vega if Compean had shot from the top of levee on 17 Feb 2005. They would not have been blown to the top and 17 or more feet over onto the north side of the levee slope. In fact, the wind probably had little effect on the casings since Compean was on his knee shooting from the leeward side of the levee. He was shielded from the wind by the levee.

The link http://exploration.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/rktsim.html

[Paperdoll]

GO DUNCAN HUNTER! Why would Ramos and Compean get 11 and 12 years for a minor butt wound to a felon (in the line of duty) when a father recently got a measley 2 years for the violent murder of his tiny baby? Our justice system is badly in need of flushing!

[AndrewC]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL4jYL4KY94

This is a magazine exchange in the manner supposedly observed by Juarez. Remember only the waist up is allowed and you must imagine the gunner placed 90 feet away instead of 10 to 12 feet away. Look closely!

[calcowgirl]

I had to watch it twice to notice the magazine drop. And we are to believe that (according to Juarez) he saw that from 100+ feet away? 100 feet, while Compean was facing south? What? Did Compean conveniently turn sideways so that Juarez, with his extraordinary eyesight, had a clear view unblocked by Compean's body?

[AndrewC]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhqQubbiJUo

This video is a slow motion video which allows you to see how the casings are ejected. You can also notice the effect of the wind on the smoke leaving the pistol.

It is a "tasty" video. A couple of bullet streaks appear. Just get a grip on a millisecond or so and everything on that video will fall into place. I think it is possible, since one casing(the third) hits its apex in frame.(as a bonus 2 shell casing shadows cross the shooter's wrist.)

[calcowgirl]

I think it is possible...

I'm not following. What is possible?

[AndrewC]

I'm not following. What is possible?

I was just noting that enough information is available in that video to describe much of the scenario. If a measurement can be made on the casings it would be possible to calculate the wind, the bullet velocity, maybe the mass of the bullet, etc. IOW, we can also reason on the scenario of Ramos and Compean using "little" clues.