Thread: El Paso: Hometown Newspaper AGENTS RELEASED

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_11721824

THEIR HOME TOWN PAPER

Ex-Border Patrol agents convicted in shooting released from prison
By Ramon Bracamontes / El Paso Times
Posted: 02/17/2009 09:33:32 AM MST


EL PASO - Former U.S. border patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean were released from prison Tuesday, but will remain in a community confinement program until March 20, U.S. Bureau of Prison officials said.
The two agents had been in prison since 2007. President George W. Bush commuted their sentences before he left office.

Traci Billingsley, bureau of prisons spokeswoman, said Tuesday that the two men are out of prison and under the "supervision of the community corrections office for a period of community confinement."

Community confinement means the sentenced person has to spend the last phrase of their sentence either in a halfway house or in home confinement.

Dallas criminal defense lawyer Ed Mason, who represented Compean in his appeal, said Tuesday morning that he had not yet talked to Compean but was awaiting his phone call.

"I think he might be on his way to El Paso," Mason said in a telephone interview. "We haven't been able to talk to him yet."

Billingsley said she could not release where the two agents would spend the last month of their sentence, but it is possible they could spend it at home.

Compean had been in the Elkton Federal Prison in Elkton, Ohio. Ramos was at the Phoenix Federal Prison.

The two former agents were convicted of shooting a drug smuggler and then trying to cover it up. Compean was sentenced to 12 years and Ramos to 11 years in prison. Both agents were found guilty of civil-rights violations and discharging a firearm during the act of a crime, an offense that includes a mandatory 10-year sentence.

Compean was released at 6 am and at present is on a flight from ohio to houston with his wife Patty for a 2:30 departure to el paso

This is such wonderful news...just made my day!! I hope they get lots of job offers, write books and make lots of money!!

www.patgray.com click on podcast. its the after show show
and if you cant get it live, it will be podcasted on the site later today


Ed Hendee on KSEV just reported that the agents are forbidden from talking to the press between now and march 20. If they speak to any press. they will be returned to PRISON.

Originally Posted by SOSADFORUS

This is such wonderful news...just made my day!! I hope they get lots of job offers, write books and make lots of money!!

I'm scared for them ..

Originally Posted by WorriedAmerican

Originally Posted by SOSADFORUS

This is such wonderful news...just made my day!! I hope they get lots of job offers, write books and make lots of money!!

I'm scared for them ..

So am I. It's a crying shame when Americans have to suffer the harassment and violence from racist illegal aliens and their supporters. Hopefully they will surround their homes with surveillance equipment to catch any potential hate crimes.

I never thought of that....well they have alot of people on their side so we will say our prayers for both of them and their families.

Another update. If they would go to jail again for talking to the press before March 20th, why is Ramos on Lou Dobbs tonight?

TexasGal



Ex-Border Patrol agents released early from prison

(CNN) -- Two former U.S. Border Patrol agents -- whose cases became flashpoints in the controversy over border security -- were released early from prison Tuesday, one of their attorneys and a congressman said.
An artist's sketch shows Ignacio Ramos, left, and Jose Compean.

An artist's sketch shows Ignacio Ramos, left, and Jose Compean.

The agents were convicted in 2006 of shooting and wounding an unarmed illegal immigrant and then covering it up.

President George W. Bush issued commutations for both men during his final days in office last month. Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean had received 11- and 12-year prison sentences, respectively.

After the commutation, their prison sentences were set to end March 20.

Ramos was released on furlough to travel from prison in Phoenix, Arizona, to his home in El Paso, Texas, where he will serve the remaining portion of his sentence under house arrest, said his attorney, David L. Botsford of Austin, Texas.

After March 20, Ramos will be on "supervised release" -- similar to probation -- for up to three years, Botsford said.

Compean had been incarcerated in Elkton, Ohio, said U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-California.

Ramos exclusive on 'Dobbs'
Ignacio Ramos' wife, Monica, and his lawyer join CNN's Lou Dobbs on his release.
Tonight, 7 ET
see full schedule »

"At last, Ramos and Compean have been rightfully reunited with their families," Rohrabacher said in a statement. "This day is long overdue. I wish the Ramos and Compean families the best as they now try to pick up the pieces and begin to heal from this terrible ordeal."

Both men had requested presidential clemency, and the U.S. Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney was reviewing their requests when Bush made his decision, office spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said.

"The president has reviewed the circumstances of this case as a whole and the conditions of confinement and believes the sentences they received are too harsh and that they, and their families, have suffered enough for their crimes," a senior administration official said.

The official noted that both Democratic and Republican members of Congress had supported a commutation, including President Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, and Texas GOP Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn.

Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Richard L. Skinner, in a statement posted on the agency's Web site, confirmed that his staff wrongly told members of Congress last September that Compean had stated he "wanted to shoot a Mexican."

"At the time my staff made that statement, they believed it to be true, although we later learned it was inaccurate," Skinner said. "In fact, Mr. Compean had stated in a sworn statement that 'my intent was to kill the alien ... and I think Nacho [Ramos] was also trying to kill the alien.' "
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Critics of U.S. immigration policy have been campaigning for a pardon for the two agents, arguing they were just doing their jobs.

The shooting happened February 17, 2005, on the U.S.-Mexico border southeast of El Paso, Texas.

During their trial, Ramos and Compean said that the illegal immigrant, Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, had brandished a gun while actively resisting arrest.

Aldrete-Davila said, however, that he was unarmed and trying to surrender when Compean attempted to beat him with a shotgun.

Aldrete-Davila was shot while fleeing toward the Rio Grande. Ramos and Compean were convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon, lying about the incident and violating Aldrete-Davila's Fourth Amendment right against illegal search and seizure.

After receiving immunity to testify in the case against the two agents, Aldrete-Davila was arrested in 2007 on charges of bringing more than 750 pounds of marijuana into the United States.

The case became a political flashpoint, with advocates of tighter border controls defending the agents and civil liberties groups saying that the agents had used illegal and excessive force against Aldrete-Davila.

Bush granted 189 pardons and 11 commutations during his eight years in office, far fewer than Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan in their two-term administrations.

A commutation reduces a convict's prison term, but the conviction remains on the person's record. A pardon wipes the slate clean by erasing the record of the conviction.

A president has the sole authority to grant clemency to whomever he chooses, although a Justice Department office usually reviews applications and makes recommendations after considering such standards as a person's degree of remorse and ability to lead a responsible and productive life after release.

Those applying for a pardon through the Justice Department are required to wait at least five years after their conviction or release from confinement.


http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/17/bor ... index.html

And another update from Fox News, which talks about the gag order.

TexasGal


Convicted Ex-Border Agents Released From Prison Following Presidential Commutation

Tuesday, February 17, 2009
By Joseph Abrams

Jan. 17, 2007: Former U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos (left) and Jose Alonso Compean (right) turn themselves in to federal authorities.

Jan. 17, 2007: Former U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos (left) and Jose Alonso Compean (right) turn themselves in to federal authorities.

Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean have been released from federal prison after serving more than two years in solitary confinement for the non-fatal shooting of a Mexican drug smuggler.

President Bush commuted the sentences of the two border guards Jan. 19, and his order will go into effect on March 20. The pair will serve out the remaining month of their sentences in home confinement in El Paso, Texas.

Ramos' wife Monica was waiting at the federal penitentiary in Phoenix for her husband's release and told FOXNews.com she was overjoyed to be reunited with her husband.

"I can tell you it's a great day for me. We've been anticipating this for quite a while now but seeing him walk through those doors today was just surreal," she said. He is expected to land in El Paso at 2:30 p.m. EST.

• Click here for photos.

Ramos and Compean were sentenced to 11 years and 12 years respectively for the 2005 shooting of Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, a Mexican national now in prison for attempting to smuggle hundreds of pounds of marijuana in to the U.S.

Aldrete-Davila was shot in the buttocks while attempting to flee along the border in Fabens, Texas, which lies 10 miles southeast of El Paso. Prosecutors say Ramos and Compean tried to cover up evidence of the incident; the border agents say they were defending themselves in the line of duty.

The case became a cause celebre for a chorus of organizations and members of Congress — many of them Republican — who rallied to the border agents' side. Republican lawmakers were ecstatic on the news of their release Tuesday.

"At last, Ramos and Compean have been rightfully reunited with their families," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif. "This day is long overdue. I wish the Ramos and Compean families the best as they now try to pick up the pieces and begin to heal from this terrible ordeal."

Ramos and Compean were unable to comment Tuesday as they are under a gag order until they are released from federal custody on March 20.

The pair will remain on "supervised release" for a period of up to three years, according to a statement from Ramos' lawyer, David Botsford. Botsford said it was appropriate to commute the pair's sentence in light of the "onerous" conditions they experienced while incarcerated.

Monica Ramos told FOXNews.com that the family has appealed the conviction to the Supreme Court and is awaiting word on whether it will hear their case.

"I won't stop until they tell me I've exhausted all avenues and they tell us that we can't fight it any more," she said. "We'll continue to press it every step of the way."



http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,494565,00.html

[quote="TexasGal"]Another update. If they would go to jail again for talking to the press before March 20th, why is Ramos on Lou Dobbs tonight?

I was thinking it's just the wife and lawyer. Yes? No?