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Rep. Charlie Dent Urges President Bush to Pardon Border Patrol Agents
Express-Times ^ | 12/22/08 | Jessica Coomes

Posted on 12/24/2008 4:24:47 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Lehigh Valley, today is sending a letter to President Bush, urging the outgoing president to pardon two former Border Patrol agents who are in prison for shooting a drug smuggler.

Dent wrote that the two agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, "were acting in fulfillment of their duty and responsibility to protect our borders and enforce the law, and they have been unjustly punished for their actions."

Though Dent's congressional district is hundreds of miles away from the Mexican border, the congressman has taken an interest in border-related issues because he sits on the House homeland security committee.

"Border Patrol agents are charged with the dangerous job of detecting, preventing and apprehending wrongdoers and are confronted on daily basis with difficult life or death decisions," Dent wrote in his letter to Bush.

"Maintaining control and security of our borders is central in our efforts against terrorism and critical to law enforcement activities that keep our citizens safe.

This case has not only undermined the trust and confidence of our Border Patrol agents, but it has also raised questions about the discretion and decisions of federal prosecutors."


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: aliens; borderagents; borderpatrol; compean; corruptbush; immigrantlist; ramos; ramoscompean
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To: davisfh

He should have pardoned them already so they could be with their families for the holidays. It doesn’t look very promising at this point. Very sad. Maybe the PA congressman will have an impact and Bush will have a change of heart.


21 posted on 12/24/2008 6:06:34 AM PST by jersey117
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To: Dr. Scarpetta
I hate to think that Bush will leave office without pardoning these guys. It makes no sense to me.

Well, they never should have interferred with the globalist's drug mules in the first place, right?

The war on drugs is (and always has been) a government sham.

22 posted on 12/24/2008 6:52:25 AM PST by Ranger Drew
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To: 1rudeboy
One day, we should try to combine one of these “cops doing their duty” threads with a “cops shoot Granny” thread. We might just create a black hole that will consume the Earth.

Sometimes, cops are good guys doing their duty. Sometimes cops are bad guys shooting innocent grannies. Sorry life is so complex. It must be hard for you to keep up.

23 posted on 12/24/2008 6:56:53 AM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: Dr. Scarpetta
This is one topic where I'd like to see a journalist really question him.

Several have had ample opportunity, in sit-down interviews. I would assume they don't ask about it because they agree with his posture.

24 posted on 12/24/2008 6:59:44 AM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

Any authorized US official who shoots at a KNOWN drug smuggler who was once again caught smuggling drugs is alright by me!


25 posted on 12/24/2008 7:05:46 AM PST by ExTxMarine (For whatsoe'ver their sufferings were before; that change they covet makes them suffer more. -Dryden)
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To: hinckley buzzard

LOL—and sometimes, a cop empties two magazines at a fleeing suspect, hides his brass, and claims he didn’t fire his weapon to his superiors. Does that cop fall into the former or latter category? Don’t strain yourself thinking about it.


26 posted on 12/24/2008 7:33:47 AM PST by 1rudeboy
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To: ExTxMarine

Small, but important, point: he wasn’t “KNOWN” to be a drug-smuggler until afterward.


27 posted on 12/24/2008 7:36:29 AM PST by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy

My point exactly! When they discovered that he was a known smuggler and recovered drugs at the site of the shooting: investigation over! They were doing their jobs!

Now, during the investigation, had they found that this guy was clean as the driven snow, then let’s look into what these guys were doing, let’s open the flood gates on them.

But, once they knew this guy was dirty, then the rest was a waste of American tax payer dollars! And a true injustice!


28 posted on 12/24/2008 7:39:58 AM PST by ExTxMarine (For whatsoe'ver their sufferings were before; that change they covet makes them suffer more. -Dryden)
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To: All

You begin to wonder if Boosh is really on the Mexican Drug Cartel payroll.....refusing to pardon these BP agents is treasonous anti-Americanism


29 posted on 12/24/2008 7:45:28 AM PST by UCFRoadWarrior (Always question the patriotism of any Globalist)
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To: Ranger Drew
The war on drugs is (and always has been) a government sham.

I never thought so before, but now I'm beginning to think you have a good point.

30 posted on 12/24/2008 8:12:38 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: ExTxMarine
When they discovered that he was a known smuggler and recovered drugs at the site of the shooting: investigation over! They were doing their jobs!

If they had captured the scumbag (instead of letting him escape), then their job would have been done.

31 posted on 12/24/2008 8:12:47 AM PST by Toddsterpatriot (This is morning, that's when I spend the most time, thinking 'bout what I've given up...)
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To: ExTxMarine
Any authorized US official who shoots at a KNOWN drug smuggler who was once again caught smuggling drugs is alright by me!

Seem OK to me too....

32 posted on 12/24/2008 8:14:00 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: ExTxMarine
All Ramos and Compean had to do is follow procedure, even if Davila had still managed to get away. Think about it for a minute. If Ramos and Compean had followed procedure then none of what transpired afterward would have happened.
33 posted on 12/24/2008 8:18:00 AM PST by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy

Think about it for a minute, had Davila not broken the law, then none of this would have happened, so it still is NOT the BP’s fault; that’s a bad argument with me. Why not hold the person responsible for this altercation responsible - Davila.

Instead, Davila is given immunity (where it is known that he commits ANOTHER crime), given rights to passage to and from America (probably carrying drugs or illegals) and put up in a nice hotel on the American taxpayer. Talk about injustice!

Personally, I think they should have killed him, but that is just my personal opinion!


34 posted on 12/24/2008 8:35:25 AM PST by ExTxMarine (For whatsoe'ver their sufferings were before; that change they covet makes them suffer more. -Dryden)
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To: Toddsterpatriot

No, if they had killed him so that he never did this again and set a precedent for other smugglers, THEN their jobs would have been done!

But, to arrest this point I will change my statement to “They were TRYING to do their jobs!”


35 posted on 12/24/2008 8:38:35 AM PST by ExTxMarine (For whatsoe'ver their sufferings were before; that change they covet makes them suffer more. -Dryden)
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To: ExTxMarine
I'll note that you are having trouble with the concept of "proximate cause." You could also blame the guy who filled Davila's tank with gas.

In any case, "he was (found after the fact to be) breaking the law so he deserved it" is not one of the pillars of our system of justice.

36 posted on 12/24/2008 8:41:08 AM PST by 1rudeboy
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

It is the “global warming” of the last century! And it continues to cost American’s thousands of lives and dollars!


37 posted on 12/24/2008 8:41:08 AM PST by ExTxMarine (For whatsoe'ver their sufferings were before; that change they covet makes them suffer more. -Dryden)
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To: 1rudeboy

No, I understand proximate cause, but you have trouble understanding “right” and “wrong.”

No, he was breaking the law when they were attempting to do their jobs, so he deserved it. Now, I am not saying these guys did not violate policy - that is not the argument. They were not arrested and sent to prison for violating policy and procedure. They were charged with unlawfully firing their weapons and violating this person’s civil rights!

Had they been fired for trying to cover up this case, I would be okay with that - they broke procedure. But, to make this into a criminal case was a total miscarriage of justice!


38 posted on 12/24/2008 8:45:29 AM PST by ExTxMarine (For whatsoe'ver their sufferings were before; that change they covet makes them suffer more. -Dryden)
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To: ExTxMarine
No, if they had killed him so that he never did this again

Kill him before they knew he was smuggling? Is that in their job description?

39 posted on 12/24/2008 8:45:30 AM PST by Toddsterpatriot (This is morning, that's when I spend the most time, thinking 'bout what I've given up...)
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To: ExTxMarine
No, I understand proximate cause, but you have trouble understanding “right” and “wrong.”

LOL! You're funny.

40 posted on 12/24/2008 8:46:16 AM PST by Toddsterpatriot (This is morning, that's when I spend the most time, thinking 'bout what I've given up...)
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