Bush Commutes Sentences of Ramos and Compean, but won't free them till 3/20

[Irobot]

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.

[stubbycoop]

Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso's sentences were commuted by Bush today.

[Dok]

Good for them.

[adissenter2]

Praise be to Bush!  Purely political strategy.  Now till forever I will remember Bush as a champion of liberty.

[IridiumKEPfactor]

http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/president/37826749.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUZ

Hopefully they get back full citizenship and the right to vote and bear arms.

[xfahctor]

*roar of applause 
It may not make up for 8 years of travesties, but it's somehting and I will give credit where it's due.
On behalf of the families of these two men and the patriotic, freedom loving americans, thank you citizen Bush.

[Elvis]

"They were not pardoned. Their sentences were commuted. They still stand convicted, but they will no longer serve any time. They will be appearing on Glenn Beck on Fox News tonight."

http://patdollard.com/2009/01/ramos-and-compean-sentences-commuted/


Not a pardon, as in we didn't do anything wrong - just a gift.
What the heck, I'll take it.

[larsonstdoc]

  This is truly a miracle!  Thank God!

[Revolt426]

To be honest, they should have been  pardoned. This also proves there were people breathing down Bush's neck stopping him from doing this previously, possibly Cheney.

They did absolutely nothing wrong and now they have a criminal record, during a Depression. Will they ever find work again? i doubt it.

[larsonstdoc]

To be honest, they should have been  pardoned. This also proves there were people breathing down Bush's neck stopping him from doing this previously, possibly Cheney.

They did absolutely nothing wrong and now they have a criminal record, during a Depression. Will they ever find work again? i doubt it.

  I hope they can get some kind of book deal. Once their side of the story comes out (the truth), they should be able to find work.  Maybe even back with the Border Patrol.  Of course we know that the Border Patrol NOW is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.  Maybe they can sue the federal government with a civil rights lawsuit (Title 42 USC 1983 lawsuit).

[Revolt426]

I hope this sends a message to the Mexican Drug Cartels and George Soros that our Boarder Patrol Agents will not be imprisoned for life for doing their job.

I also hope the other agents see this and do their job, without fearing the Gestapo.

[KarnEvil9]

This just made my day a lot better. 

[iamc]

Innocent men, and God Bless them as they are free as they should be...God is Good: and works in strange ways.

[Clyde Barrow]

The only thing Bush did in 8 years that I agree with...

[strgzr]

Isn't it a bit odd that the sentences won't be over till March 20th. Is this how it is usually done? If I were Ramos or Compean I would be fearful of harm coming to me in the interim. Maybe someone knows something about how these things are usually handled and can explain.

[Filthy Rich]

Isn't it a bit odd that the sentences won't be over till March 20th. Is this how it is usually done? If I were Ramos or Compean I would be fearful of harm coming to me in the interim. Maybe someone knows something about how these things are usually handled and can explain.

Agreed, and what a cop-out.

A full PARDON should have been given. And that "wait" until March 20th is rather foreboding... Why not release them right now?

[Dig]

Isn't it a bit odd that the sentences won't be over till March 20th. Is this how it is usually done? If I were Ramos or Compean I would be fearful of harm coming to me in the interim. Maybe someone knows something about how these things are usually handled and can explain.

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

Shit I missed that.

WTF?

Let them out now!

[Dok]

Their case is still before the supreme court, so maybe theres still hope that real justice will be done.

[Volitzar]

Ramos And Compean Are Going Home By Chuck Baldwin January 20, 2009

This column is archived at http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2009/cbarchive_20090120.html  After tens of thousands of phone calls and emails, after the combinedefforts of columnists such as myself and radio and television talk showhosts such as Lou Dobbs, and even after persistent appeals by congressmensuch as Dana Rohrabacher, former Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and JoseCompean finally received a commutation of their 10-plus year prisonsentences from outgoing President George W. Bush and will soon be goinghome. It's about time! What took Mr. Bush so long?

Ramos and Compean were victimized by an out-of-control U.S. Attorney by thename of Johnny Sutton (who should be fired for his despicable conduct), andby a White House that cared more about appeasing the Mexican government thanit did about protecting the American border and the Border Patrol agents whowere trying to do their jobs. I won't rehash the details of this unbelievable miscarriage of justice, as Ihave already covered this atrocity in past columns. See two of these columnsat: http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2007/cbarchive_20070731.html http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2007/cbarchive_20070131.html I was also privileged to appear with Agent Ramos' wife, Monica, on the LouDobbs show last year. As such, I was the only Presidential candidate in 2008who publicly promised to fully pardon (not just grant commutation to) Ramosand Compean. See the video at: http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=G-DyfFa0tZg According to press reports, now that President Bush has commuted thesentences of Ramos and Compean, they should be released from prison "withinthe next two months." In issuing the commutation, it was made clear that"Bush didn't pardon the men for their crimes, but decided instead to commutetheir prison sentences because he believed they were excessive and that theyhad already suffered the loss of their jobs, freedom and reputations." The senior administration official quoted also said, "The action by thepresident, who believes the border agents received fair trials and that theverdicts were just, does not diminish the seriousness of their crimes." Ramos and Compean have served about two years of their sentences. And, as far as what the Bush administration official said, let's set therecord straight. First of all, while Ramos and Compean have lost their jobsand more than two years of freedom (not to mention untold grief and agony bytheir family members), they have not lost their reputations. If anyone haslost their reputation, it is Johnny Sutton and George W. Bush, his act ofclemency notwithstanding. Secondly, if the trial and conviction of Ramos and Compean is an example ofa "fair trial," everyone in the country better pray they never have to go totrial. The truth is, if there ever was an example of a Kangaroo Court inthese United States, it was the trial of Ramos and Compean. Thirdly, the "crimes" that were committed were perpetrated by a serialdrug-smuggling illegal alien, and then by a groveling, grotesque U.S.Attorney's office under the leadership of Johnny Sutton. And lest readers think that Ramos and Compean were alone in the wake of aPresidential administration bent on sacrificing American law enforcementpersonnel on the altar of appeasement to the Mexican government, pleasefamiliarize yourself with the case of the brave Texas Sheriff's Deputy,Gilmer Hernandez; and with the case of the heinous Mexican murderer, JoseErnesto Medellin. It is incomprehensible what the Bush administration hasdone to facilitate illegal immigration. See the story at: http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2007/cbarchive_20070413.html Am I happy that President Bush has at least commuted the sentences of Ramosand Compean? Of course I am. I am happy for the two agents; I am happy fortheir families. They deserve to be together. I pray it will not take monthsto release them. And I also pray that both of these gentlemen will findgainful employment sufficient to adequately meet the needs of their wivesand children. It is shameful that the country agents Ramos and Compean were so proud anddiligent to serve treated them (and their families) so disgracefully.Furthermore, it is totally disgusting to realize that the Bushadministration treated a serial drug-smuggling illegal alien better than twoBorder Patrol agents who were simply trying to enforce our country'simmigration laws. Bush's commutation of sentence does nothing to erase thathumiliation. *If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute theseeditorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made bycredit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link: http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php

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