Thread: Last Ditch Effort

Lawmakers, Advocacy Groups Launch Last-Ditch Effort to Save Two Border Patrol Agents From Jail
Tuesday, January 16, 2007

By Liza Porteus


Two Texas Border Patrol agents who shot a Mexican drug runner in the backside on the U.S. side of the border are hoping a last-ditch pardon from President Bush will save them from serving more than a decade in prison.

Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean are scheduled to turn themselves in to authorities Wednesday to begin serving 11 and 12 years, respectively, for the February 2005 non-fatal shooting.

Several groups, including Friends of the Border Patrol, The Minutemen and Grassfire.org, have been trying through petitions to keep the agents out of prison — through either a motion to U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone to allow them to remain free on bond during an appeal or through a presidential pardon from Bush. About a dozen rallies took place across the country in support of the agents last week.

"Grassroots support for these gentlemen is just through the roof," said Grassfire.org spokesman Ron De Jong. He said people signing the petitions are saying to themselves, "'something just doesn't add up' and they're starting to make great waves."


Time Running Out "We are extremely hopeful that the light of justice will shine and this wrong will be right, because otherwise it would be an absolute travesty if these gentlemen had to go to jail for doing their jobs," De Jong added.

Compean and Ramos were found guilty in a jury trial of violating the civil rights of Osvaldo Aldrete Davila when they shot him in Fabens, Texas, about 30 miles east of El Paso, then tampering with evidence by picking up shell casings from the shooting.

The ex-agents say Davila had a gun, and that's why they fired at him, but a gun was never found.

In exchange for his testimony against the two agents, Davila was granted immunity from prosecution by the U.S. government for attempting to smuggle nearly 750 pounds of marijuana — which had a street value of over $1 million — into the United States on the day he was shot.

Several lawmakers, including Reps. Ted Poe, R-Texas; Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.; Walter Jones, R-N.C.; Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.; and Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. last week sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asking him to allow Ramos and Compean to remain free on bond pending the appeal of their convictions.

The letter also notes that several "discrepancies" in the government's case question whether justice has been served and that permitting Ramos and Compean to be jailed puts their lives at risk.

Petitions with more than 225,000 signatures will be delivered to the White House Tuesday afternoon, Poe told FOX News.

"Based on my experience as a former judge, I have looked at this case and our federal government was on the wrong side," Poe said Tuesday.

"They took the side of a drug dealer over the side of the border agents who were just doing their job. Prosecute the border agents and let the criminal go free," he said. "Injustice has occurred, so I think that both of these men who were convicted deserve to be pardoned by the president."

Earlier this month, a letter circulated by Poe and signed by 24 lawmakers requested that the Justice Department not oppose a motion filed to allow the men to remain free pending the appeal.

But Poe said he hasn't heard much from the Oval Office.

"We have been getting some information from low-level members of the attorney general's office," he said. "The White House has not contacted us directly, even though we corresponded with them several times and have called. I'm a little concerned about that."

White House: Look at the Facts

Last month, Bush issued 16 year-end pardons: Five cases involved drug crimes, while others involved bank fraud, mail fraud and the acceptance of a kickback.

In September 2005 the president pardoned 14 people, including a member of the mineworkers union who was convicted for his role in bombings at a West Virginia coal mine; a counterfeiter; several dealers of marijuana and LSD; and a bootlegger.

The president has pardoned 113 people since taking office in 2001.

White House spokesman Tony Snow last week would not comment specifically on pardon proceedings, but he said the facts presented in court showed that Ramos and Compean tried to cover up what occurred.

Apparently, when they tried to pull over Davila, someone pulled out a gun and a scuffle ensued, Snow said. Davila got out of the car and tried to run away, and the agents fired about 14 shots at him — one of which hit him in the "fleshy hindquarters," as Snow said.

Avila then made his way into Mexico, where the agents say a van picked him up.

"Now, at the time this happened, they did not know if he was an illegal. They did not know that there were 700 pounds of marijuana. They didn't know any of those things. But instead you had this," Snow said.

"They also had received arms training the day before; that said, if you have an incident like this, you must preserve the evidence and you must report it promptly. Instead, according to court documents, they went around and picked up the shell casings. Furthermore, they asked one of their colleagues also to help pick up shell casings. They disposed of them."

Ramos and Compean were convicted on 11 of 12 counts.

"The facts of this case are such that I would invite everybody to take a full look at the documented record," Snow said. "This is not the case of the United States saying, 'We are not going to support people who go after drug dealers.' Of course, we are. We think it's incumbent to go after drug dealers, and we also think that it's vitally important to make sure that we provide border security so our people are secure.

"We also believe that the people who are working to secure that border themselves obey the law."

He added: "I do think that there's been a characterization that somehow the government is turning a blind eye toward the law in enforcing the law."

Agent Says He Did Nothing Wrong

Compean, a married man with three children ages 12, 2 and 4 months — all of whom have been living with relatives since the incident — told FOXNews.com he's not even worried so much about whether he will get the pardon but what will happen to his family when he's gone.

"We've basically lost everything — all we have left is our car," he said, adding that his wife hasn't been working since she had their last child.

Compean has been going to school at El Paso Community College, pursuing an education degree on a GI bill; he served in the U.S. Navy from 1994 to 1999.

While he said the judge in the case had no choice but to go along with the sentence and abide by federal gun laws, Compean said Border Patrol agents are trained when to use their weapons, and firing their weapons was warranted in this case.

"That's what we're trained to do — we see somebody armed — they're obviously not going to surrender, as what was stated in court, that he was trying to surrender and he was simply trying to get home. That wasn't the case," he said.

Compean said his case is already causing other agents to be hesitant on the job.

"A lot of the other agents coming in now, they are afraid. They're afraid of drawing their weapons," he said, adding that a firearms instructor told him recently that he was asked by a student whether he had to wait until he was shot at before he drew his weapon.

"That's what's going on now. A lot of people are afraid to and I know they've been trained [to think] it hasn't affected morale and I know it has," he added.

Asked whether he would ever consider going back to being a Border Patrol agent if allowed, Compean, who spent five years on the job before the Davila shooting, said he's not sure.

"I would like to, just because I enjoy doing the job, but if it's going to mean having to be questioned every time I draw my weapon, then there's no way. That's going to get somebody killed. It may not be me but another agent — they're going to be hesitating."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,243921,00.html

quote -------"That's what we're trained to do — we see somebody armed — they're obviously not going to surrender, as what was stated in court, that he was trying to surrender and he was simply trying to get home. That wasn't the case," he said.

Compean said his case is already causing other agents to be hesitant on the job.

"A lot of the other agents coming in now, they are afraid. They're afraid of drawing their weapons," he said, adding that a firearms instructor told him recently that he was asked by a student whether he had to wait until he was shot at before he drew his weapon.


While listening to KFI radio, John and Ken radio show this afternoon. one reported said he had just gotten off the phone with California Rep Dana Rohrabacher and was told that a couple of agents have already resigned because of this travesty of justice

This whole thing just breaks my heart. These agents do not deserve this. If these two go to prison, Bush needs to join them.

I would like to see more agents resign after this injustice, I can't help it I just do, I know that leaves our border unguarded even more then it already is, I think that is the only thing that will get any attention from our lawmakers and our stupid jerk of a President and our low life att. Gen. Gonzales, I am so furious at both of them, I think they both played a big part in this monkey trial, to ensure that our Guards think twice before really trying to catch any drug dealers on our border for what ever reason that might be. I did hear that Bush pardoned several cocaine drug dealers right? That is his drug of choice I believe!

If I were in there shoes and my country was abandoning me, I'd apply to Canada for asylum. The pres and ag make me sick. There's been a bad crime committed by someone here and it needs to be investigated. These two gentlemen a being railroaded. boosh and what's his face are not Americans, they're criminal-anti-Americans. They both suck.

I would hate to see Border Patrol Agents resign - we need them. But they probably should walk off the job for a couple of days to make a point. This issue is gonna have to be settled by Congress - they need to get off their collective fat asses and investigate this issue, the US Attorney, the Justice Department, and This A--hole Bush. We are, sooner or later, headed for a Consitutional crisis with this self annointed king in the White House. Might as well make it sooner, before even more damage is done.

Kate wrote:

This whole thing just breaks my heart. These agents do not deserve this. If these two go to prison, Bush needs to join them.

So true Kate, my heart breaks everytime I think of them and their families.

I am heartsick over this. Absolutely. It is not
as bad as the day JFK was killed but close. It is
that kind of agony. I am on my way to send
several faxes to the "capitol of the traitor". I, too,
would hope that some of the BP could financially
resign in support but I know they can not. And my
only other hope would be that they would go to Canada
also. I just feel sick and can not stop crying.

Nothing the courts could say about their actions would
make a difference in how I feel about this...maybe if they
were trying to steal the pot for their own financial gains, but
no legal mumbo jumbo or stupid restrictions would change my
opinion. They were protecting our border.

while listening to my favorite over night talk show here in texas, the 4 hour show last night was devoted to this topic. and out of all the people who called in NO ONE said they deserved jail time. One called in and said he was a border patrol agent who just resigned with in the past couple of weeks because of this injustice.
And hes hoping to get on with ICE. he said that he knew of a bunch of other agents who were about to resign for the same reason

who can blame these people for resigning when they have a government who stabs them in the back

he said that he knew of a bunch of other agents who were about to resign for the same reason

Bush wins again, this is exactly what this alcoholic, drug addicted, self annointed god/king wanted, to destroy the morale of the US Border Patrol.