If you haven't followed the case of Border Agents Compean and Ramos, sentenced to 11 and 12 years for failing to report that shots were fired at a drug smuggler who was attempting to smuggle 743 pounds of illegal drugs, Congressman Dana Rohrbacher gives a good wrap up of the case:
Following the hearing, both Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), acting Chairperson of the Senate Judiciary Committee and ranking member Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) sent a letter to President Bush requesting the commutation of the sentences of both Compean and Ramos.Statement of Congressman Dana Rohrbacher
Before Senate Judiciary Committee
July 17,2007
...[O]n Feb, 17, 2005 Officers Ramos and Compean interdicted a drug smuggler who had just penetrated our border with 743 pounds of narcotics. A high speed chase ensued followed by a physical altercation. Agent Compean ended up on the ground. The drug dealer ran toward the border, turning as he did and, according to the officers, appeared to have a shiny object in his hand. There is no reason to believe that object was not a gun. Shots were fired and in the aftermath, the prescribed Border Patrol procedure was not followed. Ramos and Compean and their supervisors, not believing the drug dealer to be hit, decide to forego the hours of laborious paperwork that is required after shooting incidents. That procedural violation, which deserved a reprimand, was turned into a felony by the US Attorney’s office.
Prosecutors in this country are given great discretion. Who will be granted immunity and who will be prosecuted is their call. In this case the U.S. Attorney’s office decided to give immunity to a professional drug smuggler, accept his word that, even though he was in possession of a million dollars in drugs, that he was unarmed and then throw the book at the border patrol agents, turning into a felony what should have been addressed, at most, by a 5-day suspension for the violation of internal procedures.
It is totally disingenuous for anyone involved with prosecuting Ramos and Compean to suggest that they had no choice. The choice was prosecuting the drug smuggler for his heinous crimes or prosecuting the border patrol agents. Going after the agents required turning reality on its head, turning our protectors into the bad guys, exaggerating the importance of not spending hours muddling through a shooting report when they thought no one had been hit. The prosecutors decided to go after the good guys and give immunity to the bad guy.
The prosecutors then vilify the border patrol agents to justify their decision. Mr. Sutton, for example, has repeatedly referred to the agents as “corrupt” in broadcast interviews. When challenged he simply defined corrupt in a way no one else uses the term. But it was Mr. Sutton who stood by as Congress was lied to with the claim that these two fine Americans of Mexican decent, supposedly bragged they wanted to go out and “shoot a Mexican” that day. This later was proven to be a bold faced lie. Who is being prosecuted for lying to Congress? This lie was in print on numerous occasions, why did Mr. Sutton let such a vicious lie stand? Why didn’t he correct the record?
...
[T]he Ramos and Compean case is the worst miscarriage of justice I have witnessed in the 30 years I’ve been in Washington. The decision to give immunity to the drug dealer and throw the book at the border patrol agents was a prosecutorial travesty. The whole episode stinks to high heaven. Two of America’s brave border patrol defenders have had there lives and the lives of their families destroyed by elitists, arrogant and overreaching prosecutors who believe protecting the civil rights of illegal alien criminals is worth destroying the lives of our law enforcement officers for procedural violations.
In the letter they point out that "Despite the fact that this incident occurred while Aldrete-Davila was transporting 743 pounds of marijuana, the prosecution gave him a border crossing pass that allowed him to enter the U.S. legally...There is evidence that during one of these crossings Aldrete-Davila entered the United States and again transported a large quantity of marijuana – perhaps as much as 750 pounds."
It's amazing that we have a prosecutor who ignores the blatant criminal activity of an illegal alien in his zeal to prosecute two highly regarded Border Patrol agents. Compean and Ramos never should have been prosecuted, let alone convicted and sentenced to such long prison terms.
But to also coddle the criminal alien sends absolutely the wrong message and this prosecutor should be fired!
Compean and Ramos should be freed immediately!
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