Thread: Dobbs Transcripts: Agents Jose Compean and Inaction Ramos

Agents Jose Compean and Inaction Ramos convicted of shooting an illegal alien
drug smuggler.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html

Aired October 19, 2006 - 18:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE
UPDATED.

DOBBS: Harsh sentences have just been handed down in the case of two U.S. Border
Patrol agents. Agents Jose Compean and Inaction Ramos convicted of shooting an
illegal alien drug smuggler.

Casey Wian joins us now. He has the live report from El Paso -- Casey.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, Border Patrol agents Inaction Ramos and Jose
Compean were sentenced tonight to 11 and 12 years in federal prison,
respectively. That was after federal Judge Kathleen Cardone denied a last-minute
request for a new trial based on allegations of jury misconduct.

Family members wept in the courtroom at the realization that these two brave
Border Patrol agents, who were only trying to do their job, are going to prison.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN (voice-over): Last year, Border Patrol agents Jose Compean and Inaction
Ramos were trying to apprehend a Mexican drug smuggler driving a van loaded with
743 pounds of marijuana. The smuggler fled, a struggle followed, and the agents
shot at the man, thinking he had a gun.

The smuggler fled across the border to Mexico. The agents thought he was
uninjured.

IGNACIO RAMOS, BORDER PATROL AGENT: I was going the job the public entrusted me
to do. They entrusted me to stop a drug smuggler, and I did.

WIAN: The Border Patrol's usual penalty for not reporting a shooting is a
suspension. Instead, federal prosecutors charged the agents with attempted
murder, assault, civil rights violations, and using a firearm to commit a crime.

Both agents say they had clean disciplinary records. In fact, Ramos has been
nominated for agent of the year.

The drug smuggler was given immunity from prosecution to testify against the
agents. Ramos and Compean were convicted in March of all charges, except
attempted murder.

Defense attorneys this week filed a motion for a new trial because three jurors
signed affidavits alleging jury misconduct. The case sparked nationwide outrage
from the public, from fellow Border Patrol agents, who held a rally Wednesday in
support of the agents, and from members of Congress, who promised to investigate
the Justice Department's decision to prosecute by the end of the year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN: Now, the sentences, Lou, handed down by the judge are actually lighter
than they could have been. Each agent could have received up to 20 years in
prison for the crimes that they were convicted of. Ten years of those sentences
were mandatory minimums. The judge had no discretion, and she reduced the
sentences to one year and two year for the other charges that the agents were
convicted of.

A couple of interesting things that happened in the courtroom. The attorney for
Agent Compean was arguing that the agent feared for his life at the time of this
confrontation with the drug smuggler. Debra Kanof, the assistant U.S. attorney
who led the prosecution of this case, said the drug smuggler was only trying to
go home.

Family members of the two Border Patrol agents gasped.

One other interesting fact: The drug smuggler himself was expected to show up in
court today. There had been a motion filed for him to do that. Instead, it was
just his attorney, the attorney who's representing him in his $5 million lawsuit
against the U.S. government, and the drug smuggler's attorney complained that
the agents never apologized for shooting the drug smuggler.

The agents will stay out of prison until January 17th. That was the date the
judge gave them to report to allow them to spend the holidays with their
families. A motion to have them remain free on bail pending their appeal will be
considered by the judge at a later date -- Lou.

DOBBS: This judge handing down what by any measure are very severe penalties.
This U.S. attorney, the assistant U.S. attorney, Debra Kanof, I mean, try to
organize for us if you will the kind of priorities that would lead the U.S.
attorney's office there in Texas to give a -- absolutely a guilty drug smuggler
immunity to testify against two U.S. Border Patrol agents for what is
effectively an administrative penalty for those unreported shots fired?

WIAN: No one can figure it out, Lou. Everyone who's been involved with this case
on the side of the two agents can't believe that this case got this far.

I must point out that the agents were offered a plea deal of a year in prison
several months ago. They turned that down, because to this day, the agents
believed they didn't do anything wrong that warrants any kind of a federal
prison term.

What they do admit is they didn't file a report that there were shots fired, and
as we've mentioned, that's usually handled by an administrative penalty inside
the Border Patrol, Lou.

DOBBS: And Casey, the allegations, made by some U.S. congressmen, in point of
fact, that this effort by the U.S. attorney's office there in Texas and by
prosecutor Debra Kanof was simply to -- to some sort of -- make some sort of
appeasement to the Mexican government that -- what is -- what are the
investigations? What is the state of those investigations now into that element?

WIAN: The investigations are still pending. Congressman James Sensenbrenner has
promised to hold hearings by the end of the year. He indicated they wouldn't
happen before the election. You know, you mentioned Congress. And there was
something that happened today. In the local paper, "The El Paso Times,"
Congressman Sylvestre Reyes, who's a former Border Patrol chief in Texas and is
the congressman for this area that represents these two agents, actually came
out in favor of the government's prosecution of these two agents today.

That absolutely outraged family members, who have been trying to get help from
their own congressman, and every time they've complained to the government about
the prosecution in this case, they've been referred to Congressman Reyes. And
for him to say something like that on the eve of the trial was just very
disheartening to these families, Lou.

DOBBS: Well, we will, of course, continue our investigation into what is going
on there, whether it is appeasement of the government of Mexico, whether it's
just the madness of this border crisis that we have in this country, or whether
it's the influence of drug smugglers along that corridor of our border with
Mexico. We're going to do what we can to find out, and meanwhile, continue the
investigation into this case, and what many are calling an outright miscarriage
of justice.

Thank you very much. Casey Wian reporting tonight from El Paso.

I watched this tonight, I wanted to hide my head in shame for what has been done to these 2 border guards by their own country, one of them a veteran who served his country, one won border guard of the year last year, what the hell is going on? There has to be something we can do. How could they not call a mistrial after 3 or the Jurors, said there was jury tampering, is beyond me. What can we at Alipac do to help these 2 men?

In the local paper, "The El Paso Times,"
Congressman Sylvestre Reyes, who's a former Border Patrol chief in Texas and is
the congressman for this area that represents these two agents, actually came
out in favor of the government's prosecution of these two agents today.

This is disgraceful that a U.S. congressman and lawmaker would support such of a thing. Another example of how mentally incapable our government is. There has got to be something really bad behind this bizarre behavior exhibited by congress and those who are suppose to be upholding the law. There must be alot more to the story than all of us know, there are too many people involved in all that is taking place.