Where Do They Go To Get Their Lives Back? (Imprisoned Border Patrol Agents Compean and Ramos)

For nearly two and a half years they've been in solitary confinement for their own safety. They will soon be released thanks to outgoing President George W. Bush's rare commutation of their 10-year mandatory sentences.

Mr. Bush should have gone one step further and granted former U.S. Border Patrol Agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos complete presidential pardons.

They were convicted of a 2005 assault after they confronted a drug smuggler at the U.S.-Mexico border who was trying to sneak a van full of his poison into our country. There was a pursuit and as the drug dealer ran, he was shot in the buttocks. Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila wasn't killed or even grievously wounded. Later it was determined the Mexican-born Aldrete-Davila had been unarmed. Interesting that he would attempt to cross the border with nearly 800 pounds of marijuana and not be armed -- most smugglers are.

Aldrete-Davila got free American medical attention and immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony against the two agents. So he could help prepare the case against them, he got a "humanitarian visa," which allowed him to come back and forth across the border legally. He also sued the United States for $5 million for what he said was the agents' "violation of his civil rights."

Four months before the agents' trial was to begin, guess who got picked up at the border trying to smuggle in a vanload of drugs? Yep, Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila. The jury in the case against the two agents never heard about the second smuggling attempt.

There's an ironic ending to this saga ... Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila is now ... serving a 57-month sentence for smuggling a ton of marijuana into the United States. Some people never learn.

Three years after that fateful confrontation in the desert, it really comes down to one basic
point: To whom do we give the benefit of the doubt in a situation like this -- the bad guy or
the guys who work every day trying to keep our country safe?

The article is worthy of a read IMHO.

Mr. Bush should have gone one step further and granted former U.S. Border Patrol Agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos complete presidential pardons

I remember a thread back at the time this happened showing that Bush could not pardon them (or Libby) because their convictions had been within the last 5 years. Pardons can only be made for convictions more than 5 years old.
I know I didn't dream this.

My understanding is that the presidential pardon power is absolute and can apply to someone who hasn’t even been convicted of anything (e.g President Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon).

President Bush’s failure to fully pardon Campeon, Ramos, and Libby made me think much less of him.

3 posted on 03/07/2009 6:44:18 AM PST by Menehune56 ("Let them hate so long as they fear" (Oderint Dum Metuant), Lucius Accius, (170 BC - 86 BC))

To: Zakeet; Ajnin; abner; AndrewC; Arizona Carolyn; Brad's Gramma; Brytani; calex59; Calpernia; ...

PING to another one!

RAMOS/COMPEAN Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on or off this list.

4 posted on 03/21/2009 9:05:48 PM PDT by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)

That is BS.

A president can pardon anyone he wants at any time. Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon BEFORE he was even indicted.

5 posted on 03/21/2009 10:57:46 PM PDT by freespirited (Is this a nation of laws or a nation of Democrats? -- Charles Krauthammer)

Bush could have pardoned them. He didn’t because his Mexico-before-America policy was the reason they were prosecuted in the first place.

6 posted on 03/22/2009 8:09:06 AM PDT by Pelham (America, defeated and occupied by the 3rd World.)

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