Free Ramos and Compean

In an absolute travesty of justice, former Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean have been sentanced to over a decade in jail for shooting a drug smuggler in the butt.

On Feb. 17, 2005, Ramos chased a van loaded with marijuana to a ditch near Fabens, where the van s driver, Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, abandoned his vehicle and ran toward Mexico.

According to court testimony, agent Compean tried to block his path, but Aldrete continued running toward the Rio Grande. Compean and Ramos then shot at Aldrete and a bullet from Ramos gun hit the smuggler in the buttock. Aldrete made it to Mexico, wounded. The agents did not report the shooting and Compean picked up his shell casings.

The agents, who will be officially fired now that they have been sentenced, said in court that they thought Aldrete had a gun.

Trying to cover up the shooting was bad and should have led to disciplinary action against these agents by the Border Patrol -- up to potential firing -- but it's important to remember that Aldrete wasn't caught and may very well have had a gun along with his van-full of drugs. Putting these law enforcement officers in jail makes a mockery of our justice system that increasingly exists to protect criminals and punish the innocent. President Bush should immediately pardon these two men and give them our government's sincere apologies.

Debra J. Saunders in the San Francisco Chronicle points to even further misbehavior by the feds: the drug smuggler was given immunity!

Instead, due to a case of blind and bloodthirsty federal prosecutorial overkill, Ramos and Compean were sentenced to 11 years and 12 years respectively. Oh, and the smuggler was granted immunity for the 743 pounds of pot, and is suing the federal government for $5 million. Crime pays, while going after criminals can land you hard time in prison.

On the government's side, I should mention: A jury found the two agents guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon, discharge of a firearm during a violent crime, obstructing justice, lying about the incident and willfully violating the Fourth Amendment right of Aldrete-Davila -- who was in the U.S. illegally, not to be mention smuggling drugs -- to be free from illegal seizure. Now three jurors have signed statements saying they were pressured into a guilty verdict, for whatever -- read: not much at this late date -- that is worth.

Saunders also notes that agents who run criminal operaions get lighter punishments:

Crooked Border Patrol agents face less time than Ramos and Compean for running criminal operations. In July, agent Oscar Antonio Ortiz received a five year sentence in San Diego for smuggling 100 illegal immigrants into America -- sometimes in a Border Patrol truck. In that case, the judge increased his sentence beyond the three years recommended by the feds. Last week, the Texas federal judge [who sentenced Ramos and Compean] issued a lighter sentence than the 20 years recommended by the U.S. Probation Office, although federal mandatory minimums forced her to sentence Ramos and Compean to more than 10 years.

President Bush should fire everyone involved with this prosecution, all up and down the line. America needs more public servants like Ramos and Compean.