Thread: El Paso Media Coverage on Freedom for Ramos and Compean

http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_11963401

Ex-agent Ignacio Ramos celebrates freedom, plans future
El Paso Times Staff
Posted: 03/21/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT


EL PASO -- Ignacio Ramos, one of the two former U.S. Border Patrol agents sentenced to prison in the shooting of a suspected drug smuggler, says he found solace and a connection to the outside world through a small radio.

It took about two years before that radio transmitted the news that he would go free. Ramos was listening to a talk show in January when he heard that President Bush had commuted his sentence.

"It was shocking," he said Friday in an interview with the El Paso Times.

Ramos had almost lost hope, he said, when word came that the president had decided to set him free.

"I wasn't expecting it because it happened on a Monday. I figured that since it didn't happen the Friday before, it wasn't going to happen," he said. "Once they said it on the radio, I broke down and I cried. Then I dropped to my knees, and I prayed and I thanked the Lord."

After leaving a federal prison in Phoenix and finishing a month under house arrest, Ramos on Friday celebrated with friends and family at Leo's Mexican Restaurant on the West Side. He described life in prison, his plans and his disappointment over being prosecuted.

Ramos and fellow agent Jose Compean were convicted in the shooting of Osvaldo Alderete Davila in 2005. Prosecutors said they tampered with evidence and failed to report the shooting to their superiors.

For their part, the agents said they believed Alderete Davila was armed and shot in self-defense, wounding him in the backside.
Alderete Davila was later convicted of drug smuggling in a separate case.

Ramos and Compean became symbols of the wrongly convicted for those who contended that lawbreakers on the border were treated better than law officers.

Ramos said he was ready to think about the future to avoid dwelling on the past.

"I'm trying to get back involved with my family, with my kids again," he said. "We're not going to get back what we missed, but we're trying to make up for as much lost time as possible."

He served his time in solitary confinement -- a precaution prison administrators said they took to keep him safe. He said he spent the two years in a cell hoping and praying for freedom.

A judge had sentenced Ramos to 11 years and Compean to 12. Some lawmakers said the agents were punished under statutes not meant to apply to law enforcement officers.

Though free, Ramos and Compean plan to press on with efforts to overturn their convictions. The former agents appealed to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, but they were denied a hearing.

They expect to learn soon whether the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case. Their argument is that they were upholding border law, not committing a crime, when they fired at Alderete Davila, said Joe Loya, Ramos' father-in-law.

If the appeal to the Supreme Court fails, Ramos says, he plans to return to a lower court to pursue an appeal on different grounds.

Like a lot of other Americans, he needs a job and says clearing his record is important to his prospects.

"We're trying to see what opportunities come up as far as what I could do for work," Ramos said. "Right now, the label I have is as a convicted felon."

Darren Meritz may be reached at dmeritz@elpasotimes.com; 546-6127.

http://www.kfoxtv.com/index.html with video reports

http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/18980429/detail.html
Compean Adjusts To Life As Free Man

http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/18980779/detail.html
Ramos Says He Wants To Be A Border Patrol Agent Again

http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/18980662/detail.html
Lives Expected To Change For Families Of Former Border Agents

http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/18979091/detail.html
Former Border Patrol Agent Ignacio Ramos Speaks Out

http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/18979201/detail.html
Compean Speaks To KFOX Hours After His Release

http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/18979645/detail.html
Wives Of Former Border Agents Explore Life After House Arrest


http://www.kdbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=10046573
House Arrest Ends for El Paso Border Agents


http://www.ktsm.com/news/jose-compeans-full-interview
Jose Compean's Speaks To Newschannel 9
Compean speaks about his 25 months in prison, his feelings on the U.S. Attorney's office and what is next for him and his family.

http://www.ktsm.com/news/ramos-speaks-o ... use-arrest
Ramos Speaks Out: Freed from House Arrest


http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?s=10045918
Ramos & Compean are free men

Ramos Says He Wants To Be A Border Patrol Agent Again
Miri Marshall-Weekend Anchor/Weathercaster/News Reporter
Posted: 8:36 pm MDT March 20, 2009
Updated: 9:16 pm MDT March 20, 2009

EL PASO, Texas -- Ignacio Ramos can wear his boots again without his ankle getting irritated. That’s because the ankle monitor that he had on his leg for house arrest is gone, making him a somewhat free man.

"It's a good feeling,â€