Pat Dollard

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I am not quite certain what pisses me off more in this country these days … but this is at the top of the list.

I am FORMALLY demanding Pres. George W. Bush pardon these two brave men immediately. They have spent far too much unjust time in prison already for doing their job.

Glenn Beck is correct … Compean and Ramos are this country’s political prisoners. This “case” has smelled worse than a maggot-infested dead rotting corpse for far too long, and MUST be thrown out completely. In addition, all charges need to be dropped, and well as compensation for the unjust pain and suffering should be granted to the two Border Agents by the State of Texas, and perhaps even the federal government for allowing this to happen. I heard someone on Glenn Beck’s radio show today state that each of these two men will owe a million dollars in fines once they are released from prison … A million dollars each … from two men who were doing their jobs … and are now being punished for it … and have been denied the ability to work and provide for their families … will owe a million dollars each in fines.

(GlennBeck.com)

GLENN: We have Tara Setmayer on? Does she have an update for us?

STU: Yes.

GLENN: Tara, are you there? Do you have an update on Compean and Ramos?

SETMAYER: Hi, Glenn, yes, I am. I’m here in El Paso, Texas. I just came from the federal courtroom where the second part of the resentencing hearings happened today. Compean was yesterday. Today was Ramos. And everyone went into this with no expectations. The reason why this is even happening is because as you know, over the summer the appellate court upheld, excuse me, all of their convictions except for the tampering with evidence charge to enforce it to be resentenced. It’s more of a legal formality. However, Ramos’ attorney took the opportunity to make some requests concerning the housing conditions that they are under. Compean’s attorney did not do this. They were separately resentenced. So today what happened, unfortunately the judge cannot touch the ten-year mandatory minimum gun charge. That’s the 924(c), unlawful discharge of a firearm sentence that we’ve been very upset about that we felt was too harsh.

GLENN: Right.

SETMAYER: The judge does not have any discretion, cannot change that. He did ask, though, that the year and the day sentencing be counted toward the ten year gun charge, that he can start earlier. She expectedly, which is the same judge who they were tried before, she expectedly did nothing. She upheld everything. The sentence remained the same. And something else that people didn’t realize, they are assessed a $250,000 fine per charge, and they were charged with four counts. So they are looking at a million dollars worth of fines once they get out of prison ten years from now. It’s just unbelievable. The only up side to what happened today is the judge did take into consideration making a recommendation to the Bureau of Prisons to remove Ramos from solitary confinement and to recommend he be put into a prison camp. This is something we’ve been pushing for for almost two years because many people know they are in solitary confinement 23 out of 24 hours a day, very limited everything. So we’re hoping that the Bureau of Prisons takes the judge’s recommendation into consideration and moves Mr. Ramos out of solitary confinement.

GLENN: Tara, any chance the President says, okay, look, I’m not going to take the — I’m not going to take the crime away but I will say time served here? Is there any chance President Bush decides to relieve their sentence as the last thing he does before he leaves office?

SETMAYER: Well, given the way that this case has gone, I cannot call it either way. Every time we see an injustice and we think how can they possibly rule against us, they have. But I can tell you at this point, they have submitted their commutation application officially, it is before the pardon attorney. We have given up asking for a pardon because we’ve seen that this administration has dug its heels in and a pardon would be a rebuke of Johnny Sutton and their buddies. We’re going for commutation. And I encourage the American people who feel they still want to be involved, what can they do, they can write to the pardon attorney, they can write to the President and ask from a humanitarian perspective, do these men really deserve this type of sentence. It’s already a life sentence for their families, for their children. Do they really deserve this, have a heart, use that Christian charity that the President always talks about and commute their sentences. And it’s going up the chain now and congress is going to start ramping up our efforts now that the election is over to really appeal to the humanitarian aspect of this. Even Johnny Sutton himself has said that this was too harsh of a punishment, even though he chose to bring it. And I visited with Ramos yesterday again and he once again wanted me to say thank you to you guys and to all the American people who have supported him and the heart-breaking part about today sitting in that courtroom was when they brought him out in shackles and took him away. His wife and his children were sitting in the front row and they were crying and he mouthed to them, I love you, don’t cry, don’t cry. And it was just heart-breaking to watch this whole thing unfold and look at the people who are responsible for this, but he’s in good spirits and he’s still confident and holding his head up high and that’s really thanks to all the prayers and support of you guys and the American people.

GLENN: Tara, what is — how do we get a hold of the attorney? Who do people write to? How do they get a hold of them?

SETMAYER: It would be the pardon attorney at the Department of Justice. I’m in transit but I’ll be happy to send you the information and you can maybe post it on your website. I’ll get all the exact information of the name and address, but for people who want to get a jump start on that, if they look up the U.S. pardon attorney at the Department of Justice, all that information should be online.

GLENN: Tara, thanks a lot. I appreciate it.

SETMAYER: You’re welcome, Glenn, thank you.

GLENN: We’ll get you that information, it will be on the website today or tomorrow and we’ll talk about it again tomorrow. I will tell you this. I think people are just going to — I think you are going to see more of this kind of stuff. I really do. I mean, this government has gotten away with Compean and Ramos. It’s been dirty since the beginning. I didn’t believe it at the beginning. You know, I’m an American. I love my country. I don’t — I’m a guy who doesn’t believe the worst in people. I don’t want to believe any of this stuff. I looked at this stuff with Compean and Ramos and I said, well, why were they picking the shells up? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. When you really do your homework, when you really look into this case, this is dirty from the getgo. And there’s just so much going on that we’ve been lied to for a very long time and if they can get away with it with Compean and Ramos, first they came for the Jews and I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t a Jew. First they came for our border guards and I didn’t say anything because I’m not a border guard. I didn’t really pay attention. I didn’t really care. I fear, America. We had 150,000 political prisoners in this country before. Did you know that? During the Wilson administration. 150,000 people in prison for speaking out against World War I, for speaking out against the Wilson administration. It has happened before. Now, what is your view on the Constitution? Do you agree with what congress is doing right now? How much longer will they allow you to speak? How much longer before you find yourself unable to speak? First they came from the border guards. Because I wasn’t a border guard. You need to speak up.

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Texas Mom says:

God – I hope Bush does something. I will never forgive him if he doesn’t and I will be in that damn ditch letting him know . . . running out of options. It is left in Bush’s hands. There needs to be a push on Bush to pardon . . . candle light vigil for both tonight in el Paso.

(The family of former Border Patrol agent Jose Alonso Compean including his wife, Patty Compean, left, exited the federal courthouse after a hearing Wednesday. Jose Alonso Compean was resentenced to 12 years in prison for charges stemming from the shooting of a convicted drug smuggler in 2006.)

Ex-agent resentenced
Jose Alonso Compean gets 12 years in smuggler’s shooting

By Ramon Bracamontes / El Paso Times

EL PASO — One of two former Border Patrol agents, who were at the center of a national movement to overturn their convictions, was resentenced Wednesday to an identical term he initially received in 2006.
Jose Alonso Compean was given 12 years by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone who imposed the sentence after the original conviction was appealed. The resentencing was ordered in July after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals dropped a tampering-with-evidence conviction against Compean and his partner, Ignacio Ramos.

Ramos will be resentenced Thursday.

In 2006, Compean and Ramos were arrested, convicted and imprisoned for shooting a convicted drug smuggler in the buttocks.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Compean was again sentenced to 12 years in prison because one of the charges he was convicted of, discharging a firearm during a criminal act, carries a mandatory 10-year sentence. The discharging a firearm charge was upheld by the appeals court. Compean received two additional years because he was also convicted of assault charges.

In front of a packed courtroom, Cardone made it clear that she did not have any leeway with the sentencing.

“As you know I am dealing with a mandatory 10-year sentence,” Cardone told Compean. “I could never, without giving you an illegal sentence, go below those 10 years.”

Compean told the judge in the courtroom that he understood.

Compean’s out-of-town lawyer, Ed Mason, said they knew nothing would change at Wednesday’s resentencing.

Instead, Mason said they are continuing with plans to put a commutation order in front of President Bush and are hopeful he will consider it before he leaves office at the end of December. A presidential commutation order would end the agents’ sentence.
The commutation order cannot be reviewed by the president until all pending litigation in this case is concluded, and that is why Mason wanted the resentencing over with quickly.

“We contend that this is not pending litigation and we want the commutation order to get to the president’s desk,” Mason said outside the courtroom. “This was just a record-keeping procedure.”

Compean’s sister, Claudia Martinez, was among the dozen or so family members and friends who attended the sentencing hearing. She was glad they got to see Compean.

“It was hard,” Martinez said. “He was in Ohio, and we haven’t been able to see him.”

She said they are hoping President Bush will commute their sentences.

“All we can do is pray and hope,” she said.

Ramos and Compean shot at Osvaldo Aldrete Davila during a chase Feb. 17, 2005, near Fabens as he was running toward Mexico after abandoning a van filled with marijuana. One bullet hit Aldrete in the buttocks. The agents said they thought Aldrete had a gun. Aldrete testified that he did not. The agents did not report the shooting to their superiors, and Compean picked up shell casings, court testimony showed.

In August, Aldrete Davila was sentenced to 9Ã¥ years in federal prison after being found guilty of drug possession with intent to deliver.

Because U.S. prosecutors used a Mexican citizen and an alleged drug smuggler as a witness to testify against the agents, the case has drawn the attention of congressmen, the national media and several organizations throughout the United States.

Second Border Patrol agent resentenced

By Ramon Bracamontes / El Paso Times

EL PASO – A second former Border Patrol agent, Ignacio Ramos, was resentenced on Thursday to the same 11-year prison sentence that was originally levied on him in 2006 by U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Cardone.

Ramos had to return to court in El Paso for resentencing after the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans dropped a tampering-with-evidence conviction against him and ordered the resentencing. Ramos’ partner, agent Jose Alonso Compean, was resentenced on Wednesday and he too received the same 12-year sentence he had previously been given.

Ramos and Compean, who were arrested, indicted and convicted for shooting a drug smuggler in the buttocks, have been at the center of a national movement to overturn their convictions.

No mercy for jailed Border Patrol agent
Federal judge resentences Jose Compean to 10 years behind bars

(WND)

There’s no mercy for a former U.S. Border Patrol agent who remains behind bars for shooting a fleeing drug suspect.

A federal judge in El Paso, Texas, has upheld Jose Compean’s original punishment and resentenced him to 10 years in prison for his conviction on a charge of using a weapon in the commission of a felony and another two years in prison for assault and other charges.

As WND previously reported, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said if Compean and his fellow agent Ignacio Ramos want, they could ask President Bush for clemency.

Perino explained: “All I would do … is point you back to what we have said before, which is there is a process in which people in our country can ask a president of the United States for a commutation of their sentence, and that process can take place if those individuals want it to.

“And I would also point you to the U.S. Court of Appeals, who just recently ruled on that decision. I would encourage you to take a look at it,” she said.

That ruling, from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals, affirmed much of the sentences for the two agents, reversing a minor obstruction of justice count.

Ramos and Compean are serving 11- and 12-year prison sentences, respectively, after a jury convicted them of violating federal gun laws and covering up the shooting of a drug smuggler as he fled back to Mexico after driving across the border with 743 pounds of marijuana in February 2005. U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton’s office gave the smuggler, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, immunity to serve as the government’s star witness and testify against the border agents.

The agents were convicted of assault, discharge of a weapon in the commission of a crime of violence, tampering with an official proceeding and deprivation of civil rights.

The court affirmed all convictions except for tampering with an official proceeding, which it vacated and remanded for resentencing.

The bulk of their sentences, however, stem from a mandatory 10-year minimum sentence imposed by Congress for anyone convicted of discharging a weapon in the commission of a crime. Only a reversal of that count could remove 10 years from their sentences.

The last remaining level of appeal for Ramos and Compean is the U.S. Supreme Court.

The families of the former agents were devastated upon hearing the decision, and Joe Loya, father-in-law to Ramos, told WND the families intend to pursue that appeal.

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, told WND the appellate court in New Orleans made a “bad decision” in siding with the word of a now-convicted drug smuggler rather than the two Border Patrol agents.

Poe, deeply disappointed and clearly upset by the appellate court decision, told WND he would encourage Ramos and Compean to have their lawyers make a further appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Poe said he plans to introduce legislation immediately to clarify Section 924(c) – the sentencing enhancement, because, “It was never the intent of the Congress to have U.S.C. Section 924(c) apply to law enforcement officers.”

“For the most part, the trial of this case was about credibility,” the court wrote in its unanimous decision, “and although the jury could have gone either way, it chose not to believe the defendants’ version of the crucial events of February 17. The trial of the case was conducted fairly and without reversible error.”

WND previously reported the prosecuting attorney, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton in El Paso, Texas, had allowed Aldrete-Davila to testify against Ramos and Compean despite Department of Homeland Security investigative reports tying the smugger to what became known as the “second load.” Aldrete-Davila allegedly smuggled another 750 pounds of marijuana into the U.S. in October 2005, while he had been granted a DHS-issued border pass card and immunity to testify at the agent’s trial.

District Judge Kathleen Cardone at the trial ruled the defense was not allowed to present the jury with any information about the second load, and Aldrete-Davila was shielded from questions about it.

WND also reported that at the trial, prosecutors allowed Aldrete-Davila to testify he was an inexperienced drug smuggler who only committed the one offense, because he had lost his commercial drivers license in Mexico, and his sick mother needed medicine he could not afford to buy.

But the appeals court said, “The exclusion of evidence relating to the size of the marijuana load and Aldrete-Davila’s alleged involvement in drug-trafficking events of October 2005 did not violate the defendants’ Sixth Amendment rights to present a complete defense nor did it deny them a proper cross-examination of a witness against them.”

Aldrete-Davila later has since pleaded guilty to a number of charges and is awaiting sentencing.