Bush Grants Clemency To Ex-Border Guards

(CBS/AP)  In his final acts of clemency, President George W. Bush on Monday commuted the prison sentences of two former U.S. Border Patrol agents whose convictions for shooting a Mexican drug dealer ignited fierce debate about illegal immigration.

No other acts of executive clemency are expected from Mr. Bush, reports CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski had asked Mr. Bush to pardon fellow Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, who was convicted in October of corruption, CBS News reported Sunday.

Mr. Bush's decision to commute the sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who tried to cover up the shooting, was welcomed by both Republican and Democratic members of Congress. The move was supported by both Texas senators and all but two of 32 House members, who signed a letter to Mr. Bush urging the commutation, reported the Dallas Morning News.

Lawmakers from elsewhere in the country also supported the move, including President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who represented Illinois in the House before accepting a role in the incoming administration.

They had long argued that the agents were merely doing their jobs, defending the American border against criminals. They also maintained that the more than 10-year prison sentences the pair was given were too harsh.

Rancor over their convictions, sentencing and firings has simmered ever since the shooting occurred in 2005.

Ramos and Compean became a rallying point among conservatives and on talk shows where their supporters called them heroes.

---

Click here to read more about Bush's clemency decision

---

Mr. Bush didn't pardon the men for their crimes, but decided instead to commute their prison sentences because he believed they were excessive and that they had already suffered the loss of their jobs, freedom and reputations, a senior administration official said.

The action by the president, who believes the border agents received fair trials and that the verdicts were just, does not diminish the seriousness of their crimes, the official said.

Compean and Ramos, who have served about two years of their sentences, are expected to be released from prison within the next two months.

They were convicted of shooting admitted drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete Davila in the buttocks as he fled across the Rio Grande, away from an abandoned van load of marijuana. The border agents argued during their trials that they believed the smuggler was armed and that they shot him in self defense. The prosecutor in the case said there was no evidence linking the smuggler to the van of marijuana. The prosecutor also said the border agents didn't report the shooting and tampered with evidence by picking up several spent shell casings.

The agents were fired after their convictions on several charges, including assault with a dangerous weapon and with serious bodily injury, violation of civil rights and obstruction of justice. All their convictions, except obstruction of justice, were upheld on appeal.

With the new acts of clemency, Mr. Bush has granted a total of 189 pardons and 11 commutations.

[omded]

Shot the guy in the buttocks...I''ll bet he had to go on a bean free diet for the next several weeks, because it probably hurt every time he passed gas. That''s why these agents got such tough sentences. I tell you Bush has absolutely no compassion for the bad guy.

You''d think that would teach this guy never to smuggle drugs again, but, no. Two months later, he was back doing it again. Come to think of it, he must not have been hurt all that badly if he was back in business in only 2 months...

[taphilo-2003685639374287843630]

He was granted immunity so that the Border Agents could be tried. Two months later he was caught again smuggling drugs into the USA.
Border agents will ALWAYS now second guess because the precedent now in use - and uphead on appeal - is that any law person firing a weapon even if he / she thinks that person as a weapon - can be tried for it. They now have to PROVE that person had a weapon and was fired - and sure as H*** hope then can find the proof that they were fired at - before they can shoot back. IF someone at the border shoots - runs back into Mexico and shoots more they cannot shoot back since there is no way to prove a weapon was used since they cannot cross the border to investigate.
The international law of "hot pursuit" is not allowed into Mexico by policy. (Think of Jack Pershing riding into Mexico with the US Army in the early 1900s, fully allowed under International Law back then - and now.)
So now it comes down to border agents must be wounded or be sure of finding shell casings on our side of the border before firing back. Let''s hope the other side never starts using revolvers again - no shell casings will be found since they stay in the pistol and are not ejected and they can run safely back and sue the US if they are hit by return fire.
Tom
http://www.taphilo.com

[taphilo-2003685639374287843630]

Any time law personnel fire weapons they go through a lengthy administrative process: they are suspended, go home / admin work while a full investigation goes on to determine if they acted "justly".
Thus, after years at the border, they knew this would occur. The person fled the truck running through brush and looking back at them as they were running toward him and tried to get him before he crossed back into Mexico. They shot since he was reaching / looking back and then he ran across the border.
Now what do you do? Report the incident of firing and spend a few weeks to months while they investigate - KNOWING that the guy went across the border with any weapon and would then ditch it and claim that he had no weapon at all - or just pick up the shells and report that the person ran from the truck back to Mexico when they came at him?
He went to Mexico, went to a hospital and then SUED the US government for shooting him - and WON. The US District attorney then used a law written to prosecute drug dealers and used THAT law against them since all the other laws did not give a prison sentence since they were acting in the line of duty. They really got jailed for the same thing that Marta Stewart did - lying to Federal agents about what happenned.

[briannorwood]

Don''t be too hard on George W. Bush. After all it takes a really special kind of Jackass to achieve "Worst President Ever" status!

But I think his greatest achievment will be that he single-handedly laid the groundwork for President Obama''s election.

I don''t think that without the example of the most incompetent President in history, Obama would have won so convincingly.

So, hats off to George Bush. Thank you for being as awful as you were.

[glidescube]

Finally. Something the monkey does that I agree with. It took 8 years but I agree with him on this.

[wtcmedic911]

about friggin time. hope they live long enough to see the outside...

[louthesz9]

This isn''''t about illegal immigration. It was about two border guards shooting a man in the back and then lying about it. Only the brainwashed hate mongers try to make this about illegal immigration.

Nobody should be able to shoot someone in the back because they''''re running and then claim self defense. They knew they did wrong and that''''s why they covered over the evidence.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by rudy6543 at 07:04 PM : Jan 19, 2009
-----------------------------------------------------

Just how well do you know this case, may I ask??? That "man", as you''ve described, is a convicted drug smuggler with ties to the Mexican cartel.

From what I read and heard about the circumstances of the shooting, the agents we''re merely defending themselves because they saw the drug smuggler reaching out for something in his pocket while he was fleeing back to Mexico. Since that drug smuggler had ties to the Mexican Mafia and knowing how violent they can be, wouldn''t you have assumed that he may have been armed???

But hey, if you don''t like the way our laws are carried out here, you can always go back to that banana republic south of the border and let''s see how Mexico protects its citizens from the bad guys.

[zloa]

For all you drug users who''s comments are for the drug dealer, He was not killed or severly injured and was caught trying to smuggle more drugs several months later.

[cfin5]

I''m a Constitution Party member who wants to say "THANKYOU VERY MUCH" to President Bush for his mercy to these fellas. I hope they can get home to their families ASAP. These officers should not have been subjected to this belittlement in the first place! I also want to thank Congressman RON PAUL and Constitution Party Presidential nominee CHUCK BALDWIN for their efforts to help rouse up this injustice our Justice System has smeared themselves with causing unneeded distrust from us citizens. This is my favorite thing that President Bush has done!

[surreal64]

Shooting a ******* in the ***? They are minor Gods!!