Posted on 07/03/2007 2:52:26 PM PDT by SittinYonder
n the wake of President Bushs clemency of former vice presidential chief of staff Lewis Scooter Libby, Rep. Tom Tancredo urged the president to take it a step further and fully pardon two former Border Patrol agents whose case has galvanized conservatives.
The agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos were convicted of shooting a suspected drug smuggler and trying to cover up the incident. They are serving 12 and 11 year sentences, respectively.
Supporters say the agents were convicted wrongly for protecting the U.S. border against criminal intruders. Their case has become a cause celeb for conservative talk show hosts and groups that advocate stronger immigration controls.
Tancredo, a GOP presidential hopeful, said that the sentences in the case were grossly unfair and a result of an overzealous prosecutor. He also said in a statement that the men were at risk of violent attacks at their current prison cell locations and that their families are suffering. Ramos was beaten by other inmates earlier this year.
I hope the president will consider providing the same relief to these men and their families that he did yesterday to Mr. Libby, Tancredo said.
U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton of San Antonio has stood by his prosecution of the agents.
I admit to only reading about this case, but from what I've read, I believe the prosecution was correct based on the information I've read.
To summarize what I've read: The suspect fled. The border patrol agents didn't know he was a drug runner, just that he was fleeing.
When they caught him, one tried to strike him with his shotgun but slipped and fell down. So the suspect ran again... this time they shot over 20 times at him while was fleeing.
After the shooting, they failed to report it as a shooting and later had a fellow border patrol agent return to the scene to police their expended brass.
We would never accept this type of behavior from police officers and (if true) we shouldn't accept that behavior from Border Patrol agents either. I lived on the border for 15 years and have nothing but respect for our agents. However, from what I've read I believe those two let themselves get out of control and now they're paying the price. Yes, their service should have been taken into consideration, and yes, the sentence was too harsh but I also believe they are guilty.
I could be wrong, but sadly I don't think so. It's just my opinion, and God I hope I'm wrong.
Libby on the other hand would never have been prosecuted had the "non-crime" not been investigated. What if a federal investigator was investigating you because someone had accused you of a crime. Then it turns out the accuser lied. But you're convicted because the investigator believes you lied to him... regardless that the charges were fabrications in the first place. Great way to entrap innocents. Any good interrogator/investigator can twist a person.
Ok. Donning flame retardant suit fellow FReepers.
Ramos/Compean ping!
ping!
Excuse me? I'm not glad anybody is in jail.
Grow up! Where did I say that?
I'm glad he said it. I posted on another thread today that since he pardoned Libby that I think he needs to pardon them too. I bet he won't because he doesn't want to make Mexico mad.
Bush and his cronies care more for illegal immigrant drug dealers than the border guards and combat soldiers who risk their lives at his behest.
I find that so upsetting. It is so sad to think of the border guards in jail, when they were just trying to do their job.
Considering that the drug smuggler Aldrete tried to evade arrest, attempted to assault Compean and then tried to shoot at the agents, they didn't have to "know" that he was a drug smuggler or had drugs.
IOW.....they DIDN'T know he was a drug smuggler and the fact that he WAS a drug smuggler shouldn't justify shooting a retreating border jumper...which IN FACT,is ALL they knew at the time.
Thanks for playing.
When the verdict came in on Campeon/Ramos DCP gloated with a post that stated that he knew they were guilty from the beginning.
That could only mean one of two things, either he was there (no) or that his natural inclination is to take the word of a Mexican drug smuggler over that of two American LEOs BEFORE any facts are known (yep, that's him).
I called him on it then and won't forget it now.
At this point you could easily be classified as a disrupter since you have asked all these questions before. You just don't/won't believe the answers.
I remember your posts, ignoring any of the news articles written, instead relying solely on Johnny Sutton press releases. What one found by reading the transcripts of the trial is that Sutton’s press releases were not accurate and twisted facts to the point of absurdity and fraud. It found a prosecution team willing to hide relevant facts from trial and strong arm witnesses into giving the testimony they wanted to hear. Your characterization is just a reiteration of Sutton’s misrepresentations, IMO.
If I just ran from you, then attempted to assault you and then I pointed a gun at you, are you going to try and figure out who I am before you defend yourself?
I hope President Bush has another bout of courage in the face of political correctness.
There's also the persistent story that Aldrete-Davila's mother or mother-in-law notified relative, Christopher Sanchez in our Department of Homeland Security to complain about his treatment by the former Border Patrolmen (after all, he was only smuggling the drugs we citizens are too lazy to smuggle). Sanchez apparently ferried Aldrete-Davila for treatment, gave him refuge in his home and managed to lose the extracted round...ALL of which was redacted from official reports.
If these curious circumstances aren't enough reason to reopen the investigation perhaps you'll find the following report reason enough to do so:
"Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila had been a member of the Vincete Carrillo-Fuentes Cartel, which had been aligned with the Mexicali Cartel before its demise in 2004. He also said that as a member of this vicious gang, Davila had participated in The House of Death in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico. The massacre, according to my source, resulted in the torture deaths of 30 people. The massacre was brought to light by Guillermo Ramirez Peyro, a former Mexican policeman who as it turned out was a ICE informant on the U.S. payroll. This prompted the DEAs El Paso Field office chief, Sandalio Gonzalez to write a letter to his counterpart, Juanita Fielden at ICE complaining about the use of informants who are actively involved in House of Death murders. A copy of this letter was delivered to Fieldens boss, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton. This resulted in a cover-up, which was exposed by Michele Leonhart, the deputy administrator of the DEA."
While Ramos and Compean made procedural mistakes that may have warranted dismissal from service I sincerely believe that they don't deserve imprisonment with the sort of illegal aliens they were sworn to protect us from. If the above information is investigated and confirmed these agents place in prison will be filled by Sutton, Sanchez and other corrupt officials. Go, Tom, go!
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Well dcp, it appears that a growing number of freepers have you pegged.
That's a lie. Please provide a link to and Ramos and Compean threads within the past 90 days? 120 days? Don't think you'll find enough to fill a hand..and you'll have fingers left over.
I am putting forth an opinion as to why President Bush has not commuted their sentences...that's all.
No...stalker...what it appears to me is that there is a concerted effort to get me banned, that what.
I would have been happy with a simple dismissal for their jobs as border agents.
If the above information is investigated and confirmed these agents place in prison will be filled by Sutton, Sanchez and other corrupt officials.
IOW, your claims have NOT been confirmed but are speculation.
Bump for Ramos and Compean.
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