Do you remember the case of the Border Patrol Agents who shot a drug dealer in the butt carrying a million dollar marijuana load? Well, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the agents convictions for tampering with Evidence but left the Discharging of a Weapon in the Commission of a Crime intact. These carry 10 year minimum mandatory sentences. So the agents are petitioning President Bush for a commutation or Pardon in the waning last days of his administration. This case has been a black eye to the White House and Bush since the indictment against the two former agents in 2006. Incredibly enough, the drug dealer they shot, was given immunity and committed a new drug trafficking offense. U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton who defends his actions should have been removed from office after this unfortunate incident.According to CNN:So, the question remains, should Bush Pardon them, Commute their sentences or leave them in Jail? Well faithful readers, I believe they should get a full pardon and have those felonies expunged from their lives. If Bush does not do this before he leaves office, I would be very surprised. If he does not I would pray that President Obama will Pardon them quickly.Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee criticized the 12- and 11-year prison sentences given to ex-agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos, respectively. And they strongly questioned federal prosecutors' decision to charge the pair with using a weapon during the commission of a crime -- a 10-year penalty that most often is used against drug dealers and other criminals, not law enforcement officers obliged to carry guns as part of their jobs.
The senators bored in on some of the case's most nagging questions: Why the drug smuggler, who had been driving a van with a million-dollar payload of marijuana, was given immunity to testify against Ramos and Compean; why the trafficker was given unfettered permission to cross into the United States after the agents were charged; and whether he used that border-crossing privilege to bring in another million-dollar marijuana haul just months after the February 2005 incident near El Paso.
"The public sees two Border Patrol agents serving long prison sentences while an admitted drug smuggler goes free," Cornyn said, adding that he has "serious concerns about the judgment calls made during the prosecution of this case."
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This is one of those cases that is prima facie outrageous. I hear about it constantly through Lou Dobbs and John Derbyshire (NR). But, I am fairly ignorant of the facts, except that the Border Agents shot a criminal, but did so in an illegal manner.
ReplyDeleteHere's my question, because I don't have the time to look this up right now: why would a prosecutor and judge push for such a conviction that is clearly politically unpopular, and seems rather outrageous in terms of morale for the folks that risk their lives to enforce our laws?
My guess is that there is another side to the story, outrageous as it seems. But maybe not, maybe there are simply liberal lawyers and judges that hate border patrol agents and America in general.
"My guess is that there is another side to the story, outrageous as it seems. But maybe not, maybe there are simply liberal lawyers and judges that hate border patrol agents and America in general." --- Right.
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