With less than 24 hours before leaving office President George W. Bush continues making controversial decisions.Earlier today, Bush commuted the sentences of two former Border Patrol agents who shot an unarmed Mexican drug smuggler in 2005. Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos were originally sentenced to over eleven years in prison for shooting admitted drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete Davila. Yet in Bush’s judgment the sentences were too harsh and both men will be freed by March after having served two years in jail.
According to the AP, the convictions served as “a rallying point” for right-wing politicos and commentators with some calling the agents as “heroes”. It’s vital to note that both Republican and Democratic legislators in Texas campaigned on behalf of Compean and Ramos.
Was Bush’s decision fair or pathetic political pandering? It would seem like the latter after one reads the particulars of the case:
Compean and Ramos…were convicted of shooting admitted drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete Davila in the buttocks as he fled across the Rio Grande, away from an abandoned van load of marijuana. The border agents argued during their trials that they believed the smuggler was armed and that they shot him in self defense. The prosecutor in the case said there was no evidence linking the smuggler to the van of marijuana. The prosecutor also said the border agents didn't report the shooting and tampered with evidence by picking up several spent shell casings.Among those seeking clemency from Bush is Justin Volpe- a New York City cop convicted of sodomizing Haitian immigrant Abner Louima.
The agents were fired after their convictions on several charges, including assault with a dangerous weapon and with serious bodily injury, violation of civil rights and obstruction of justice. All their convictions, except obstruction of justice, were upheld on appeal.
Image- Fox News (“Jan. 17, 2007: Former U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos (left) and Jose Alonso Compean (right) turn themselves in to federal authorities.”)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, CNN, AP, Reuters, Bloomberg, CBS News
2 comments:
I fail to see what G. W. Bush could gain politically from issuing these pardons. In my estimation it was a personal not a political decision.
Read the blog:
www.craigdylan.blogspot.com
Even if it was a personal decision, Bush's move had plenty of political implications. He gained support amongst politicos in his home state of Texas, the same state where he will head off to (and most likely reside in) after Tuesday's inaguration. More importantly, he ingratiated himself with the din of rightist commentators and pundits.
To quote a Fox News piece on the story:
""The whole thing was ridiculous from beginning to end, and two years was way too long for them to serve," said radio talk show host Laura Ingraham. "Conservatives are very happy across the country.""
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