Border Patrol Agents to go to prison - Fair Justice?

Two Texas Border Patrol agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, were convicted of shooting a Mexican drug runner in the backside while on duty. They will serve 11 and 12 years in prison respectively for the February 2005 non-fatal shooting of Osvaldo Aldrete Davila.

Apparently they were found guilty of violating the civil rights of Davila when they shot him on Feb. 17, 2005, in Fabens, Texas, about 30 miles east of El Paso, then tampered with evidence by picking up shell casings from the shooting.

The U.S. government gave the Mexican drug smuggler IMMUNITY for his testimony against the two agents. It would seem the smuggler was trying to smuggle 750 POUNDS of marijuana - which had a street value of more than $1 million -- into the United States on the day he was shot. Better yet, he was then treated in a U.S. hospital and is now suing the federal government for $5 million.

Foxnews.com - 2 Border Patrol Agents to Turn Themselves in Today for Shooting Mexican Drug Runner

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Were the actions of the two border agents justified? At what point would the rule of law be supplanted in favor of removing known criminals from their routing drug activities? This drug smuggler has probably does many runs from Mexico to the United States transporting illegal drugs. We are not talking about a few ounces here and there, but 750 POUNDS!

Why did the government give this criminal immunity? Is it because he would have refused to testify against the two agents unless the feds offered something substantial to him? Then that would mean the agents would have gone free! Or the prosecution is assuming that these two men would try to do the same thing against another drug smuggler? Perish the thought!

The federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, is focused on the civil rights violations that the agents committed, not on the criminal activities of the drug smuggler. By common sense, this would have been absolutely wrong, but the rule of law must be upheld, no matter who is the person.

It really does suck to see an illegal alien with a drug criminal history being able to send two border agents to prison.

Currently, groups such as Friends of the Border Patrol, The Minutemen, and Grassfire.org are writing up petitions to keep the agents out of prison or through a presidential pardon from Bush.

Several lawmakers, including Poe; Rohrabacher; Walter Jones, R-N.C.; Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.; and Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., last week sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asking him to allow Ramos and Compean to remain free on bond pending the appeal of their convictions.

A dozen rallies were held across the country in support of the agents last week.

Update Jan 23 2007

WorldNetDaily reports at least 70 Republican Congressional members are co-sponsoring a House resolution ordering that the convictions and sentences of Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean be vacated and that they be released from custody immediately.

It would seem President Bush is not in any hurry to pardon these two Border Patrol agents.

How can you give immunity to a known drug smuggler who probably has criss-crossed the Mexican-U.S. border many times with illegal drugs?