Posted on 08/28/2008 1:44:28 PM PDT by djsherin
I heard Glenn Beck talking about them the other day and I was thinking about their situation... what did these men do wrong?! They are in prison for doing their jobs. This goes beyond tying one hand behind our border patrol agents' backs; this is like lopping their arms off and kicking them on the ground.
These men literally did nothing wrong yet they sit rotting in federal prison for more than a decade. The leaders of the country they swore to protect have betrayed them both and have left them to a horrible fate. I can think of no reason they shouldn't be let out immediately. I even read that some Democrats have argued for their release. The 2 men themselves won't seek a pardon because to do so would admit guilt. They are troopers to be sure.
I pray for these men and their families. No one that does their job and enforces the law should be convicted solely on the statements of a foreign national drug runner. This case disgusts me and further erodes my confidence in our leadership. I hope Ramos and Compean know that they have our support. I can only imagine the bitter resentment they feel, and if they aren't bitter or resentful, they are better men than I could ever be in that situation.
You need to read the opinion. The Circuit Court goes out of its way to state that neither it, nor the District Court, heard this case as matter of a Border Patrol policy violation.
I will. But I’m hopping on and off the computer right now. I’ll read it later tonight when I’ve got a solid chunk of time. I’m just stating my preconceptions about what I’ve heard from the case and about this kind of policy in general.
It won’t be a fun opinion to read. Thankfully, Judge Jolly (and his clerks) did a fine job of writing it—he breaks apart the arguments and deals with them piece-by-piece.
Not fun because it shows Ramos and Compean in a different light or because it’s long, dull (I would imagine) piece to read?
Yes, and Compean was an instructor that taught others the proper procedures about handling such a scene, so he couldn't reasonably argue that he didn't know better.
Their best argument was that they were lax in following regulations and just didn't want to deal with filing a report.
In my opinion the defense made a good case that a lot of regulations were commonly ignored in that border patrol office.
The testimony by some of the other agents left me thinking that Ramos and Compean were among the better agents there in actually trying to do their jobs if not exactly by the book.
Their supervisor was obviously trying to cover his own behind. It was obvious that he had to know that a high speed chase occurred with multiple units chasing after the suspect, however all high speed chases require supervisor approval and can only be done in sedans. None of the agents drove sedans, and the supervisor admitted that not only had he not approved a chase in this instance, but that he had never approved any high speed chases.
It was also obvious that a number of agents knew that shots were fired and none of them made any noise about the fact that no investigation was done and no report was filed.
To me that made it seem obvious that no one thought it was really necessary, or I guess the other option was that no one cared that they had tried to shoot the guy. I tend to believe that laziness is much more likely than malice, but the jury apparently felt differently.
What you ended up was with all of the witnesses being complicit in the incident to some degree. None of them had solid credibility. In the end it came down to Compean saying he saw a gun in the suspects hand and the suspect saying that he was shot for no reason. Somehow the jury decided that added up to guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
I don't think the two are completely innocent, but I also don't think there was nearly enough evidence to convict them of the crimes they were charged with, and the 10 year addition to the sentence for having used a firearm was completely ridicules.
I think that’s a fair evaluation. Thanks for the input.
Not fun, because I am sympathetic to the plaintiffs, and in a long read they (and their attorneys) really take it on the chin.
The prosecution did not tamper with any of the evidence. The defendants did.
Then just for fun, ask if the whole truth allows the omission of any part of the truth.
This is intended to imply that the prosecution withheld the truth by not allowing the defense to discuss Aldrete-Davila's crimes with the jury.
This has nothing to do with the "whole truth" regarding the incident, because at the time of the incident Ramos and Compean did not know Aldrete-Davila from Adam. They did not know that he was a drugrunner or even that he was not a US citizen. Unless the defendants were arguing that they were clairvoyant and could see the future, these facts were irrelevant to the incident the jury was considering.
That's the way the American legal system works.
If that were true you would be able to correct the record. Instead, you just repeat an unsupported assertion three times.
The Circuit Court's review of the case. I'll find you a link.
He removed physical evidence from the incident scene and he disturbed the incident scene as well - knowing full well that if he filed a written incident report as the law required or if came to light in any other way, there would be a routine physical inspection of the scene that he deliberately had interfered with.
Or, more succinctly, only three convicted felons know the full story.
All three did their best to hide the details of what happened, implying that all three had something they wanted to hide.
And the fact that the other two criminals couldn't consistently describe what sort of firearm the drugrunner had in his hand. And the fact that no physical evidence was recovered from the scene that would indicate that he was armed. And the fact that he was shot from behind.
Because they were convicted of a crime, failed on appeal, and did not receive a Presidential pardon?
Just sayin'
It's isn't a matter of not writing a "memo."
When a law enforcement officer fires a weapon, it's a big deal and needs to be accounted for. I don't think either of us would like to live in a jurisdiction where law enforcement officers would be allowed to fire as many rounds as they wanted without ever having to account for or justify the discharge of those rounds.
They also removed physical evidence from a crime scene. They also lied to investigators about tampering with the scene.
Although I still think that charging them with possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (which carried the mandatory 10 year sentence) was underhanded and unethical.
When you lie to and mislead investigators, they will throw the book at you. Especially when you have been underhanded and unethical - i.e. lied - to them. As peace officers themselves, Compean and Ramos knew they were playing with fire by messing with the investigation of other law enforcement personnel.
They basically dared the prosecution to throw the book at them.
Thank you so much.
Everyone should operate with all of the facts, regardless of what they are.
I appreciate it very much.
There are only two options: they tampered with the scene because the scene incriminated them, or they tampered with the scene because they were bored with their jobs and wanted to get fired and disgraced - just for kicks.
I'll go with the more rational option one.
That’s not what I’ve heard at all. The reports said that they were required to file a report with their supervisor...except that their supervisor was THERE.
Their supervisor was not there. He only showed up after the fact. And it does not matter - if he had actually been present at the incident he and Ramos and Compean would all have been required to file reports of what they did and saw.
An unrecorded verbal exchange with a supervisor is not a written record of a serious incident.
That should be pretty glaringly obvious.
The criminal part of all of this is that this President sees fit to leave these patriots in jail
Patriots don't lie and tamper with evidence. Patriots tell the truth and take whatever consequences they have coming to them.
He deserved more than a slug in the butt.
Of course he does. But he will never get what he deserves because Ramos' and Compean's incompetence and lies gave him the free pass he was hoping for.
Their behavior ensured that he could never be brought to trial. They were, in effect if not in intent, his accomplices.
Crimes he would never have been able to commit had Ramos and Compean acted competently and legally.
It’s no conspiracy against the two. The administration has an open borders agenda and will enforce that agenda by any means necessary even if it destroys border patrol agents (and our nation) in the process.
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