Posted on 01/20/2009 7:15:03 AM PST by LuxMaker
WASHINGTON – In his final acts of clemency, President George W. Bush on Monday granted early prison releases to two former U.S. Border Patrol agents whose convictions for shooting a Mexican drug dealer fueled the national debate over illegal immigration.
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Better late than never.
No pardon? That sucks.
Commuted, not pardoned! Meaning they still have to live with the stench of a felony conviction...good luck getting a job in this economy.
At least its something.
Frankly, I don’t understand, no pardon? Our x President just went down a couple of pegs on my list.
G Gordon Liddy got a job. Ollie North got a job. At least they’re out of jail as of Mar 20th. I agree, GWB could have done better on this one.
Maybe a book and/or movie deal is in the works for them. Hope so.
Cross referencing other threads if anyone is interested in reading them:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2167463/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2167473/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2167466/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2167598/posts
It all may depend on what their lawyers filed for. They may have requested a commutation because they still are looking for the original sentence to be overturned through the appeals process and this may leave that option open.
I heard one of the wives interviewed recently. I believe she said they wanted a commutation of the sentence because they could continue appealing the conviction. If pardoned, the conviction remains. I hope their appeals are successful.
good luck getting a job in this economy.
Maybe so if they are depending upon the man to hire them. But if they have some get up and go they have opportunities now to do things as their own boss/company. Such as; the speaking circuit, books, movies, owning their own business [security guards, etc], teaching/instructing. They are limited to a degree only in their abilities to do for themselves.
A pardon can also be seen as righting a wrong, returning a person who should never be tried in the first place to a status they enjoyed before their conviction. Now the two men remain convicted felons.
Bush should have pardoned Ramos and Compean immediately after their conviction. Instead, he left them in prison, where Ramos was beaten. Bush deserves faint praise—if any at all—for pardoning them at this late date.
I am grateful for this commutation. I was praying for a pardon, but this is almost as good. I will celebrate the day that they are finally released.
This is the answer to a lot of prayers.
Yes, this would make a great movie.
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