Bush commutes former Border Patrol agents' prison terms
The two ex-lawmen had been convicted of shooting an unarmed Mexican drug smuggler. The case has been a cause celebre among illegal-immigration foes.
By Josh Meyer
12:54 PM PST, January 19, 2009
Reporting from Washington -- In perhaps his final acts of clemency, President Bush today commuted the prison terms of two former U.S. Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting an unarmed Mexican drug smuggler who fled across the Rio Grande after they stopped a van with 743 pounds of marijuana.
The Justice Department announced that Bush has granted clemency to former Texas-based agents Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio "Nacho" Ramos. As is usually the case in such executive grants, the announcement included no explanation, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a case that ignited a fierce debate about illegal immigration, the two men were sentenced to prison terms of 12 years and 11 years, respectively, after being found guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon, defacing a crime scene and violating the smuggler's rights. The men, who tried to cover up the 2005 shooting, were given three years of supervised release after their prison terms and a $2,000 fine each.
According to the Justice Department, Bush's grant of clemency means that the men's prison sentences will "expire" on March 20, leaving intact the three-year terms of supervised release with all conditions and the fines.
The case has become a cause celebre among illegal-immigration foes. Lawmakers, led by some Republicans from California and other border states, have demanded a review of the prosecution, and tens of thousands of people signed a petition in support of the former agents.
Republican lawmakers in Congress have also pushed aggressively for prison commutations and even outright pardons for the former agents. They have argued that it was irresponsible to punish the men with jail time, that their prosecution demoralized the nation's Border Patrol agents and that it sent a clear message that Washington was not serious about protecting its borders and enforcing its immigration laws.
Just last week, members of the Texas congressional delegation, including Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchinson, wrote to Bush to ask him to commute the men's sentences. Some Democrats have also supported clemency, saying the agents were just trying to do their jobs.
Compean and Ramos were convicted of shooting admitted drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete Davila in the buttocks as he fled an abandoned van full of marijuana. They argued at trial that they thought Davila was armed and that they shot in self-defense, but the prosecutor said no evidence linked the van to Davila and that the agents didn't report the shooting and tampered with evidence by picking up several spent shell casings.
They were fired after their convictions, and all charges but obstruction of justice were upheld on appeal.
Since the two men were incarcerated in January 2007, Ramos has been assaulted, and both men have been placed in solitary confinement "because of the danger they face as a result of their law enforcement backgrounds,"' the lawmakers wrote.
"Many of us have written to you over the past few years with concerns about this case," the Texas lawmakers wrote. "We appeal to your good reason and sound judgment as fellow Texans and ask that you correct this injustice."
Critics of tough immigration policies have argued that the prosecution of and prison sentences for the two former agents were justified and that Bush should not even consider granting clemency for them.
Bush could have pardoned Compean and Ramos, which essentially would have wiped away their underlying convictions. Instead, he chose to commute their prison terms, which keeps their underlying convictions intact.
Even so, one former Justice Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of criticizing the president, decried the commutations today. "These men were totally unrepentant, there was obstruction of justice, they shot a man in the back. I am speechless. These are terrible clemency cases," he said.
The commutations come on Bush's last full day in office. The case has tested the powers of Congress on the issue of clemency, which remains solely vested in the president to use at his discretion, with input from the Justice Department and its Office of the Pardon Attorney. The Constitution is silent on whether Congress has that authority.
But Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon) introduced a bill two years ago to pardon the two men. Although that legislation did not succeed, it did prompt Bush to say that clemency -- perhaps even a pardon -- was being considered for the men.
"People need to take a tough look at the facts, the evidence a jury looked at, as well as the judge. And I will do the same thing," Bush said in an interview with KFOX-TV in El Paso.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,3945952.story
I'm on the fence how I feel about this, as I have always had mixed feelings about the overall situation. I'm happy for these guys that they got out. Shitty situation, but they were IDIOTS about what they did after the fact. If they didn't not report it, then lie and try to cover it up at first, everything would have been fine.
I like the fact that Bush did not pardon them. They will always have the convictions on their records. I do think 11 & 12 year sentences were pretty harsh in the first place though.