Help Correct the Ramos & Compean Injustice
Washington, DC (July 28, 2009) - With less than 24 hours left in his presidency, George W. Bush at last granted clemency to two former Border Patrol agents, Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos. The two had received lengthy prison sentences after being convicted of shooting a fleeing Mexican drug dealer.
| How you can help: Justice calls all Americans to the cause of helping to make our sentencing laws fair. One way is to support candidates who share this value. From enactment in 2008 of the Second Chance Act to the current Ramos-Compean Justice Act, conservatives have been at the forefront of justice in sentencing and post-conviction rehabilitation. Read the inspiring comments by RMC PAC Treasurer Randy Goodwin and get involved in this effort. |
Arising from this tragic episode is the joining of a leading Democrat and Republican Member of Congress to introduce H. R. 3327 entitled the "Ramos-Compean Justice Act" which - if enacted - will finally give federal judges the discretion to fit a sentence to the nature and scope of the wrongdoing involved.
Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) introduced H. R. 3327 which was co-authored by Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX). The two Congressmen - representing opposite sides of the aisle on many other issues - came together and presented a unified front in seeking sentencing justice after the Ramos and Compean debacle that saw the two receiving 11-year sentences.
H. R. 3327 is "technical jargon" for sure, but what it does is amend Title 18 of the United States Penal Code at section 5337 by adding that a federal judge may impose a sentence below the statutory minimum if the court finds that such is necessary in order to be fair or just.
Currently, the federal sentencing laws provide an unyielding regimen under which federal judges are bound to impose sentences if certain facts exist even though there are - as in the case of Compean and Ramos - serious mitigating factors and over-riding social issues such as inhibiting police officers from doing their duty for fear of being unjustly sentenced if they make an error in judgment.
According to the Compean and Ramos blog a large number of senators and representatives, both Republicans and Democrats, had supported clemency for the two men. A Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in 2007 emphasized that the drug dealer had crossed the United States-Mexican border illegally and drove a van containing 743 pounds of marijuana worth almost $1 million.
The commutation granted by President Bush means the prison sentences of Ramos and Compean, both from El Paso, Texas, expired on March 20, but leaves intact the three years of post-imprisonment probation and fines of $2,000 each. Both had been in prison since early 2007. Much of that time was spent in solitary confinement, which was declared by the Bureau of Prisons to be necessary to protect the former law enforcement agents from convicted and incarcerated Mexican drug dealers.
Bush commuted the sentences before he received a recommendation from the Justice Department's pardon attorney. "The Office of the Pardon Attorney was still in the process of reviewing the clemency requests from Compean and Ramos at the time these commutations were granted," a Justice official says. Known as notoriously slow, the pardons attorney's office rarely recommends any positive action despite years of efforts at rehabilitation by ex-offenders.
Thus, it is imperative that both sides of the aisle unite in this cause of bringing the necessary flexibility to the federal judiciary so that ridiculous sentences as imposed on Compean and Ramos will not be repeated.
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Comments
Ramos & Compean Injustice
This injustice was promoted by the prosecuting attorney who should have also been tried for actions on this case and his conspiring with the drug dealer.
If there were a violation by these two border patrol men, it was a violation of policy and not of law which should have had administrative consequences such as time off without pay or perhaps removal from their positions as the most serious punishment.
Instead, the prosecuting attorney worked in collusion with the drug dealer to convict these two law enforcement officers. It is a wonder that the same type of officer is able to enforce any laws or apprehend drug smugglers after this type of action.
It is a known fact that alleged victim continued smuggling narcotics while he was crossing the border to come and testify at their trials so he must have had some sort of immunity by the prosecuting attorney. The prosecutor was so busy getting the feather in his hat by having the two border patrol officers convicted that he paid no attention to what his witness was doing every time he was permitted to cross the border to testify.
These officers should have been pardoned with their jobs restored and back pay for the time that they were in prison instead of a sorry excuse of a commutation by President Bush.
"Ramos-Compean Justice Act"
JUSTICE? Justice would be making marijuana legal and taxable. Justice would be allowing these officers to focus on other that issues impact this nation, like slavery of immigrants, and other issues like the importing of cocaine. Yes there is a problem and the primary problem is focusing our law enforcements energies on Marijuana.
Justice?
I don't know how anyone could be convinced to join the Border Patrol or any other law enforcement agency. You are trained and placed in a situation that calls on you to make split second decisions that could affect you for the rest of your life. Then those decisions are placed under a microscope and looked at through the jaded eyes of politically correct politicians, in this case federal prosecutors, whose political agendas have very little if nothing to do with justice or mercy. We are citizens of a Nation whose government has gone amok. The majority of both parties have lost sight of what their original constitutional responsibilities were when elected and have made their main purpose, as it seems, to stay in office and gorge themselves at the public trough. The President is not the problem although I think he is a problem. The problem is that the Senate and House are filled with a majority of selfish, self-serving men and women who have run roughshod over the rights and wishes of the majority of Americans. These senators and reps could block every attempt of the President to grab powers not granted by the constitution if they were not so morally and ethically bankrupt themselves. I fear my government and the widespread ignorance of my fellow Americans far more than I fear any terrorist in this or any other country. These two men are victims of political expediency and their careers and maybe their lives have been ruined, sacrificed by our government. I spent 32 years in law enforcement and was proud of my service. I was a cop at a time when we felt that we served the community and that we needed them to do our job. The larger majority of officers feel that way today only they are being told that anyone who questions the actions of the government or fights against injustices are terrorists. You will never get the complete truth from the main stream media. You have to search it out for yourself. Wake up America before it is too late!
Failed Justice
In the case of Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos, what could our justice system be thinking. It only takes one thing to bring to this case to give "correct Justice" and that is common sense. Apparently all involved in this case failed to use it. What could they be thinking, Is our judicial system that infested with "educated idiots" that they can not see this as a example of gross injustice in the first degree. Think it over if you have that ability to use common sense, send them home free from this unjust act.
Barry Goodwin
Ramos-Compean Fairness
I was personally very concerned that these two were actually charged with a crime and subsequently found guilty in some form of court. In addition I continued to think the President would find that these two officers had been wrongly charged but that did not happen. I am now happy that these two were released from prison and think they should be fully cleared of the charges rather than commuted of their sentences. Now you ask that judges be returned to the position of individually deciding on the sentencing of various convicted criminals. You should consider what that was like before mandatory sentencing was implemented. The case against Ramos and Campean has done it's damage and this dismissal of the rules will not do anything to restore their status in the community. They should not have been convicted and this suggested legislation does nothing to change that. I would prefer to see convicted criminals sentenced to lengthy time behind bars without the feelings of a judge or the press.
Carl, the HubCap Kid
"IN GOD WE TRUST"
I guess we will be like Canada legal weed
The border people can't stop drug dealers from fleeing & of course after he dumped his drug's in the USA. Our legal system sort of like the VA medical system. I am still asking which leg they operated on me. The right knee was prepped but the part came from my left knee, the one that was injured in the US Air Force. I guess I got my disability with that and I very lucky to get it. I do have my VA medical record's to prove it too Gregg Williams
They were railroaded by Law Officials
They were railroaded by criminal law officials. Evidence on this case was suppressed in order to find these officers guilty. The media blitz (political correctness) did not inform the people and as for me, I do not trust the media and these two border guards were innocent and 'if' they shot that criminal they should have been commended. But our Congress/Presidents in the name of political correctness from the top down are the real culprits. Our Congress and Presidents are bound by our Constitution to defend our borders. We are losing our country.
The American people need to know the truth and even the O'Reilly Factor is not looking out for us. "Fair and Balanced" news?" Do they take the news, analyze it, sift through the truth funnel and come up with a "not so far left dogma" and call it the truth. The left wing agenda is still intact. We, the people, as well as these border guards continue to be deceived by the far and centric left wing. There are no democratic conservatives and there are left-wing Republicans supporting the far left agenda. Arlen Specter is such a traitor. While he was in the Republican party, he was dishonest and had he switched to the far-left Democrats, he would not have been elected. Just a passing comment.
HELP OUR FRIENDS
I ASK YOU TO VOTE FOR OUR FRIENDS.THEY NEED TO BE FREE.
The act of imprisonment was certainly unjust for these two men.
I hope and pray for a turn around in their lives.
Federal Law Flexibility
I absolutely agree with the intentions of the bill. However, I also wonder why these two were even charged much less brought to trial, convicted and sentenced. I have to think this is similiar to what Sotomayer would do if given a chance. Their imprisionment is Federal power run amuck!