SAUNDERS: No force border enforcement

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | October 22, 2006 | Debra J. Saunders

[SmithL]

SOMEONE OUGHT to tell the Bush administration that prisons are for criminals, not law-enforcement personnel trying to do their jobs. On Thursday, a federal judge in Texas sentenced two former Border Patrol agents to 11 and 12 years in prison because they shot at a drug smuggler who was evading arrest.

In February 2005, Border Patrol agent Jose Alonso Compean got in a scuffle with smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, who was driving a van that carried 743 pounds of marijuana. Compean and fellow agent Ignacio Ramos shot at Aldrete-Davila -- they say they thought he had a gun, which Aldrete-Davila denies. Ramos shot the smuggler in the butt, but because Aldrete-Davila kept running -- across the border -- they said they thought they did not hit him. The agents picked up their shells and failed to report the shooting. For that violation of agency policy, Ramos and Compean deserved an administrative review and some sort of job-related punishment.

Instead, due to a case of blind and bloodthirsty federal prosecutorial overkill, Ramos and Compean were sentenced to 11 years and 12 years respectively. Oh, and the smuggler was granted immunity for the 743 pounds of pot, and is suing the federal government for $5 million. Crime pays, while going after criminals can land you hard time in prison.

On the government's side, I should mention: A jury found the two agents guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon, discharge of a firearm during a violent crime, obstructing justice, lying about the incident and willfully violating the Fourth Amendment right of Aldrete-Davila -- who was in the U.S. illegally, not to be mention smuggling drugs -- to be free from illegal seizure. Now three jurors have signed statements saying they were pressured into a guilty verdict,

[CyberAnt]

This is so outrageous I just want to scream.

These liberal judges need to be impeached!

[WatchingInAmazement]

See post #8

[TLI]

The government has made perfectly clear that it doesn't want enforcement of the U.S./Mexico border and that any honest attempts to do so by Border Patrol agents will result in very, very harsh punishment.

And the illegal aliens and drug smugglers are VERY aware of this and will know exactly what to say if caught to set up more law enforcement agents for prosecution and lawsuits.

S. gonna H.T.F.N.

And the out of control fed prosecuters are fully to blame.

No telling what this will do to recruting quality personnel for Border Patrol.

[soldier143]

I'm with you on this one. I get sick of being told that I have to vote for "the lesser of two evils" or else I'm a traitor to the cause. I'll be voting third party or for nobody in many cases from now on.

It's not about winning, it's about digging in and doing the right thing. So long as the politico$ understand that we are voting lesser of two evils they will try to get the "big tent" going and throw true conservativism out into the dung heap in the process.

[B4Ranch]

I was sorry that I held my nose the past few times. Never again will I hold my nose to vote for an elected official.

[TLI]

I'll be voting third party or for nobody in many cases from now on.

Vote third if you must but vote. Votes for third party get to be seen and counted. That way the pubbyrats will know exactly how many votes they COULD have had. Not voting only results in your opinion not being expressed. Seeing votes they could have had is what burns their azz.