Prison time haunts freed ex-agents

[Terri]

Washington Times

Former U.S. Border Patrol agent Ignacio "Nacho" Ramos wakes up in the middle of the night expecting a guard to shine a flashlight in his face. Jose Alonso Compean, his colleague, still has nightmares that he's not really home.

It has not been easy readjusting to life outside their one-man prison cells, where they spent the last two years of their lives in segregation.

Since the commutation of their sentences by George W. Bush on his last day as president, the former agents, who were charged with the nonfatal shooting of a Mexican national after he abandoned a load of marijuana near the border, are learning to live in the world again.

More (http://www.washingtontimes. com/news/2009/mar/21/freed-ex-agents-are-haunted-by-time-in-prison/)

[qrayjack]

This is the worst travesty of justice I know of since the O.J. Simpson farce. I will never understand why G.W. Bush let this happen, and the commutation doesn't get it, there should have been a pardon. Again, inexplicable.

[Jamble]

Grayjack, I am baffled too. We extend all kinds of protections to America's enemies and railroad a couple of honorable men who were only trying to protect our country from a drug smuggler.

I supported the Bush administration until the President allowed this to happen.

[Ohiowoman]

I know some will immediately reject the contents of this link because it came from U. S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, but it contains some interesting information:

Press Release, April 25, 2007 (http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txw/press_releases/Compean-Ramos/Setting%20the%20Reco rd%20Straight%204-25%202007.pdf)

[qrayjack]

I've see all this information and am not impressed. Sutton is a liar who withheld evidence and played the jury like a fiddle to get a conviction. This was pure persecution and I'll never forgive Bush for backing a bottom feeder like Sutton. It is despicable.

[MamaCat]

Sutton was the prosecutor and this was his side of the case. For one thing, I can't make a judgment on this info unless I hear the other side of the story.

One thing I have heard several times is that the jury was not allowed to know ahead what the punishment for these men would be. I understand there are several who said they would never have considered them guilty enough to serve a ten year sentence.

No, I have not seen any compelling evidence that these men did anything to warrant a ten year sentence.

I'm glad they're finally free. None too soon.
God bless them and their families.

(I didn't read the whole article provided by the link regarding Sutton's case, but the one strange item he noted was that one of the agents had fired something like ten times at the drug dealer, supposedly trying to kill him. I find it hard to believe that if he had really meant to do serious damage to the guy, he would have missed nine out of the ten times, and then only hitting him in the butt. Surely these border guards have target practice?)

I'm with you, qrayjack, this seriously damaged what respect I had had for George Bush.

[Jolanta]

I would not have cared if either BPA Ramos or Compean had shot and killed the drug-running snake-in-the-grass. Then we wouldn't have to worry about him. And he wouldn't have been able to testify against them. Low-life oxygen thief!

[Centurion LIV]

This has certainly been a travesty of Justice.

At most, they may have needed remedial shooting practice before shooting Creepus Parasiticus Dirtbaggus in the arse. Then, maybe the bullet might have hit elsewhere and made this whole thing a non-issue.

May both of these men do well. They might even consider writing a book about all of this.

May Johnny Sutton and that twit of a persecutor Deborah Kanoff suffer at least as much as they have wrongfully put on these two men.

May Creepus Parasiticus Dirtbaggus suffer a painful demise just before finding himself treading fire and brimstone in perdition.

For the most part, I loved George W. Bush. In this chapter however, he is an idiot.

And may God have mercy upon our country.

Fortitudo et Fides,

Dan

[qrayjack]

For the most part, I loved George W. Bush. In this chapter however, he is an idiot.
That pretty much says it for me too, Cent. That idiot part is hard to reconcile, but if he believed Sutton, the description fits.

Illegitimi non Carborundum.

[Thundercat505]

I can't add anything except to MC. the last thing I read a couple of days ago was from a tx. senator cornyn I believe who stated "several of the jurors have spoken out--if they had known that he was given immunity and that he had violate that immunity by continuing to run drugs into this country they would have never considered these men guilty. but as it was they were not given this and other pertinent information."

a few also have said that if they knew what kind of terms these guys were facing they would not have found them guilty as charged but may have considered a lesser charge.

[qrayjack]

You raise a good point, TC, and maybe the worst aspect of this travesty. Not only did two innocent men go to prison, but they did so on the word of a Mexican drug runner who testified to save his own hide. There is no way that scumbag's word should have been a part of this trial. The whole thing is just sickening.

[schillerbjr]

Disgraceful...I'm speechless !!!