In one of the final acts as President of the United States, George W. Bush finally did the right thing and commuted the sentences of former Border Control agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. They will be released from federal prison on March 20.
While I believe that the two agents should have gotten a full pardon, this is the best that we could have hoped for from the Bush administration. It threads the needle. By a commutation, it lets stand their convictions. But, by commutation it also sends the message that the sentences were indeed harsh.
Actually, there should not have been any sentences and neither Messrs. Ramos and Compean should have ever been prosecuted in the first place.
Now, these two heroes that were trying to stop an illegal alien drug smuggler will be able to go home to their families and begin their lives anew.
Johnny Sutton, the over-the-top federal prosecutor that tried the two men, should hang his head in shame that he went after these two people trying to do their jobs. And, in the process gave the illegal alien drug smuggler amnesty. So that the same dealer could testify against Messrs. Ramos and Compean and continue smuggling drugs over the border.
This has been a black mark against the Bush administration. But, by this action by the president today, he has taken a step to rectifying this black mark and letting two dedicated public servants back into society to take care of their wives and children.
And thank you, President Bush, for at least meeting us halfway on this issue.
BTW, President-elect Obama. If you really want to impress many conservatives, consider a full pardon of Messrs. Ramos and Compean.
7 comments:
I saw this and have been watching the blogs update like crazy! Very great news! :)N
Regarding your last sentence-That'll be the day!
that is wonderful news! I hadn't heard this until I read your blog about it!! I've been following this case for the past several years and it was a travesty of justice for sure; so glad they will be coming home very soon; so sad they were in prison to begin with
betty
he was right64 on this immigration issue!
This is good news, they should have been let out sooner.
It is good they're finally out of prison and with their grateful families. It's too bad that these lawmen broke the law themselves and tried to cover things up. I think honesty could have avoided it all together.
I too believe that Ramos and Compean were railroaded by the federal prosecutor in Texas and the prison sentences that were given them were draconian.
I salute Pres. Bush for commuting their sentences and the only complaint I have with him is it should have been done a long time ago.
With that said, anyone familiar with the case knows that by picking up and hiding their spent shell cases and not reporting the encounter to their superiors that R & S deserved disciplinary action and probably firing.
As much as I loathe drug dealers we cannot allow anarchy in our police forces. I have no sympathy for the drug smuggler (he got less than he deserved), but it's important that our peace officers understand their responsibilities.
God bless Pres. Bush for ending the Ramos and Compean families nightmare!
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