A request to suspend or shorten the 10-year and 11-year prison terms of former U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean is still pending. Lawyers and family members for both agents are hoping that Bush will commute their sentences before he leaves office at noon on January 20. Before Thanksgiving, Bush issued pardons for 14 convicted criminals and commutated the sentences of two others. Ramos and Compean were not on that list.
"We have the support of millions of people throughout the country," said Joe Loya, Ramos' father-in-law. "And that includes about 150 congressmen and senators. Among the elected officials who have publicly come out and supported the commutation for the agents, who were convicted of shooting a drug dealer, are U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California
Even U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton has said that the 10-year sentence is too much for these former agents. Ramos' lawyer, David Botsford, said he hopes Bush takes into account what Sutton has said.
"Hopefully, Mr. Sutton, who has publicly admitted that the sentence is too harsh, will recommend to the President that at least a portion of their sentence be commutated," Botsford said.
You can help build pressure for pardoning the two by sending an email alert demanding a pardon. Visit www.usbc.org and go to the Legislation Action Center or click on this link to go directly to the email to send to the Presdent.
You are to be commended for your fight to have our borders protected and to have our border agents not afraid to do their jobs.
ReplyDeleteJohnny Sutton, a buddy of President Bush, completely railroaded Ramos and Compean.
With all the pardons taking place, I submitted the following letter that was published in various papers in the Acadiana region of Louisiana.
http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20081205/OPINION03/812050340/1014/NEWS17
We pardon guys like Libby and other drug criminals, as well as bailout Wall Street, yet our President and vast majority of D.C. politicians don't give a damn that two men are in jail for their actions in apprehending an illegal alien drug smuggler.