“Scrooge” Bush Fails to Pardon Border Agents
Black Leader Condemns Continued Bush Refusal of Christmas Pardon or Commutation for Law Enforcement Officers Jailed While Doing Their Duty
For Release: December 24, 2008
Contact: David Almasi at (703) 568-4727 or dalmasi@nationalcenter.org
After yet another round of presidential pardons failed to free imprisoned Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, Mychal Massie - the chairman of the Project 21 black leadership network - is declaring President George W. Bush the official Scrooge of the 2008 Christmas season.
“George Bush may have his stocking hung with care above one of the White House’s many chimneys, but he deserves nothing but coal in it this year,” said Project 21’s Massie. “The deplorable treatment of Ramos and Compean make President Bush this year’s official Scrooge. I say this with the remembrance that Ebenezer Scrooge reached the conclusion that he suffered from wrong-mindedness. No one denies the actions of these incarcerated Border Patrol agents may have been contrary to protocol, but their stiff sentences far outweigh their actions at the time. These brave men have been punished enough, and I am stunned by the President’s unwillingness to do the right thing.”
Ramos and Compean, incarcerated since January 2007, are serving jail sentences of 11 and 12 years, respectively. Most of their time has been served in solitary confinement. Massie has repeatedly asked President Bush to show leniency to Ramos and Compean.
Ramos and Compean were prosecuted for an incident that occurred in February 2005 on the U.S.-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas. They chased Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila on foot after he abandoned a van containing 743 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $1 million. During the chase, Ramos shot at Aldrete-Davila after Ramos thought he saw Aldrete-Davila draw a gun. Aldrete-Davila escaped across the U.S.-Mexico border, and Ramos assumed Aldrete-Davila was unhurt. In fact, Aldrete-Davila had been shot in the buttock. U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton later charged Ramos and Compean for pursuing Aldrete-Davila without supervisor approval, moving spent shell casings and improperly reporting the fired shots.
Aldrete-Davila was granted immunity to testify against Ramos and Compean. He recently plead guilty to charges that he conspired to smuggle marijuana into the United States twice after he was granted immunity and faces a jail term of between five and 40 years and $2 million in fines (although The Washington Times cited a source who claims Aldrete-Davila may only serve six to 10 years in exchange for his plea).
Among the 19 people who were pardoned by President Bush on December 23 were John Allen Aregood for conspiracy to harbor and transport illegal aliens, Marie Elana Eppens and Steve Doyle Cavender for separate convictions of marijuana smuggling and sale and Donald Edward Roessler for embezzlement. The sentence of Reed Raymond Prior, who was convicted of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamines, was commuted.
Massie added: “I find it appalling that President Bush continues to place an apparently higher premium on freeing convicted drug dealers, human smugglers and embezzlers than he does for those who have served our nation honorably. Ramos and Compean fought to preserve our nation’s integrity and order. These other people tried to poison our communities and flout accepted morals and traditions. The latter are the ones who pose a threat to our communities, and yet they are the ones receiving executive forgiveness.”
Project 21’s Massie wrote about the Ramos and Compean case in a commentary published in The Washington Times on December 28, 2007. This commentary is available at http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/dec/28/justice-for-two.
Project 21, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research, has been a leading voice of the African-American community since 1992. For more information, contact David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or project21@nationalcenter.org, or visit Project 21’s website at www.project21.org/P21Index.html.
The talk radio station I listen to from Tulsa OK is 1170 KFAQ. They agree that the two border patrol agents should be pardoned/released. During the second hour of the Chris Medlock program he interviewed the cousin of Ramos about this. She felt that Pres. Bush was waiting on the very long process that the system goes through to recommend people for pardons (I think that is the process she referred to–was not clear to me). She felt that he is not one to buck the processes in place. I sincerely hope that is the reason he has done nothing about this.
The link below is the link to the first page of podcasts for his program. They are listed order descending by broadcast date, broadcast hour. There is a separate podcast for each hour. I found her interview interesting since it brings a perspective of a relative that is trying to get them released.
http://podcast.1170kfaq.com/ChrisMedlock/tabid/1839/Default.aspx