Thread: Bush Commutes Sentences for Two Former Border Patrol Agents

Bush Commutes Sentences for Two Former Border Patrol Agents

President Bush commutes the sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, convicted of shooting a Mexican drug runner in 2005.

FOXNews.com

Monday, January 19, 2009


On his last full day in office, President Bush commuted the sentences of two former Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a Mexican drug runner in 2005.

The imprisonment of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean had sparked outcry from critics who said the two were just doing their jobs. They had been sentenced to 11- and 12-year sentences, respectively.

Their prison sentences will now expire on March 20 of this year.

The two were sentenced in connection with the shooting of Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, who was shot in the buttocks while trying to flee along the Texas border. He admitted smuggling several hundred pounds of marijuana on the day he was shot and pleaded guilty last year to drug charges related to two other smuggling attempts.

Bush has been cautious in his use of pardon powers, and particularly careful when it comes to commutations of prison terms. Where a pardon is an official forgiveness of a crime (typically requested at least five years after the completion of a prison term), a commutation is a reduction of sentence.

Before Monday, the outgoing president had granted 171 pardons and nine commutations. By comparison, President Clinton granted 396 pardons and 61 commutations, many on his last day in office. President Reagan granted 393 pardons and 13 commutations.

The White House has until noon Tuesday, when President-elect Barack Obama is to be sworn in, to grant any more clemency requests. A number of high-profile criminals have been requesting clemency from Bush for months.

Randall "Duke" Cunningham, a former Republican congressman from California, was among those seeking a commutation from Bush. Cunningham pleaded guilty to conspiracy and other charges for accepting $2.4 million in bribes in exchange for steering defense contracts to conspirators. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2006.

Former Democratic Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards, who was convicted in 2000 on racketeering charges and later sentenced to 10 years in prison, was also appealing to the president for a reduction of sentence.

Former Republican Gov. George Ryan of Illinois was doing the same. Though he's served only one year of his six-and-a-half year sentence -- he was convicted on racketeering charges in connection with a host of schemes, including steering contracts to lobbyists and covering up bribes paid in return for truck drivers' licenses -- he's earned the support of figures like Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat who recently sent a letter to Bush asking for Ryan's release.

More than 2,100 clemency petitions were pending before the president. John Walker Lindh, the American who pleaded guilty to aiding the Taliban in 2002 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, had a commutation request before the president. Lindh's parents had appealed to the president for their son's release, saying he made a "mistake."

Media mogul Conrad Black, who was convicted of fraud, was also seeking commutation, and former junk bond salesman Michael Milken, convicted of securities fraud, has requested a pardon, which is under review.

And Justin Volpe, the former New York City police officer sentenced to 30 years in prison for sodomizing and assaulting a Haitian immigrant in police custody in 1997, had requested a commutation.

One of the most significant clemency decisions by Bush so far was the call earlier in his second term to commute the 30-month prison sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, who was convicted of perjury and obstructing justice in connection with the 2003 leak of then-CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity.

Libby was left with two years' probation and a $250,000 fine, and had not requested a full pardon.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01 ... ol-agents/

Bush did NOT pardon them.

He commuted their sentences.

Bush has been cautious in his use of pardon powers, and particularly careful when it comes to commutations of prison terms. Where a pardon is an official forgiveness of a crime (typically requested at least five years after the completion of a prison term), a commutation is a reduction of sentence.

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_________________

L.I.B.!!!! I guess I will hold on to my work boots for a bit. I'll just practice my aim...

PROGRAM ALERT

Just got off the phone with Joe Loya,
Monica Ramos and Patty Compean LIVE from new york city on
FOX NEWS GLENN BECK'S show TODAY monday the 19th

A full pardon would have been nice but a commutation at least lets them go home soon. (March 20, 2009)

From C.N.N.

updated 9 minutes ago

Bush commutes sentences of former Border Patrol agentsStory Highlights
NEW: Bush believes "the sentences they received are too harsh," official says

President Bush commutes sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Joe Compean

Ex-Border Patrol agents will be released March 20

Pair convicted of shooting undocumented immigrant who was running drugs

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- On his final full day in office, President Bush issued commutations for two former border patrol agents convicted in 2006 of shooting an undocumented immigrant who was smuggling drugs at the time.


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

The prison sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Joe Compean will now end March 20.

Ramos had received an 11-year prison sentence; Compean had received a 12-year sentence.

"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.

"Commuting their sentences does not diminish the seriousness of their crimes. Ramos and Compean are convicted felons who violated their oaths to uphold the law and have been severely punished," the official stated.

"This commutation gives them an opportunity to return to their families and communities, but both men will have to carry the burden of being convicted felons and the shame of violating their oaths for the rest of their lives."

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

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/19/ ... index.html

While I'm happy they will be released it should be a full pardon with
their jobs returned and compensation for 2 years of false imprisonment,
my opinion.

From M.S.N.B.C.

Bush commutes ex-border agents' sentences

Convictions, sentencing, firings stirred fierce immigration debate
NBC video

updated 5 minutes ago

In his final acts of clemency, President George W. Bush on Monday commuted the prison sentences of two former U.S. Border Patrol agents whose convictions for shooting a Mexican drug dealer ignited fierce debate about illegal immigration.

Bush's decision to commute the sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who tried to cover up the shooting, was welcomed by both Republican and Democratic members of Congress. They had long argued that the agents were merely doing their jobs, defending the American border against criminals. They also maintained that the more than 10-year prison sentences the pair was given were too harsh.

Rancor over their convictions, sentencing and firings has simmered ever since the shooting occurred in 2005

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28735457/