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Slideshow on right showing the vigil

Candle Light Vigil Held For Former Border Patrol Agents
Daniel Novick-KFOX News Reporter

POSTED: 8:36 pm MST November 12, 2008
UPDATED: 9:25 pm MST November 12, 2008


EL PASO, Texas -- A candlelight vigil on Wednesday night was held for the agents convicted of shooting at a drug smuggler and then not reporting the incident, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.

The vigil took place in between resentencing hearings at the federal courthouse in El Paso for both former agents. Compean found out on Wednesday that he will serve his full 12 year sentence, while Ramos' hearing is on Thursday.

"We are 100 percent behind the families of Ramos and Compean. We think this is a huge travesty of what's happened to them," said Valerie Roller at the vigil.

Roller came to El Paso from Glendale, Arizona, and she believes Compean and Ramos did nothing wrong.

"These people are good, hard working American citizens, true American patriots, even with what the government has done to them," Roller told KFOX.

Roller is on a personal mission, sending hundreds of letters to President George W. Bush asking him to commute the sentences of the two former agents.

"Have been sending these to the White House every single day, and we've been sending a package every single day with these letters," she said.

Linda Melendez signed one of those letters at the vigil.

"We came down here to give them support to our agents, and I feel that it was very unfair what they did and how it's been going," Melendez said.

Melendez said they lit candles not just for Ramos and Compean, but for their families too.

Children really don't understand very much as the moment that they don't have their parents around, they're wondering 'Why isn't my father here?' It's hard for them to understand and to cope with it," she said.
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