Senators ask for clemency for border agents

Houston Chronicle:

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and a Democratic colleague today urged President Bush to commute the sentences of two Border Patrol agents imprisoned for shooting a fleeing Mexican drug smuggler and concealing evidence.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California and Cornyn sent Bush a letter asking for clemency a day after a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing where they criticized the federal prosecution of Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos as excessive.

"We believe that this is a case of prosecutorial overreaching, and to allow Agents Ramos and Compean to serve more than a decade in prison would represent a serious miscarriage of justice," they wrote.

"We urge you to commute their prison sentences immediately."

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While Cornyn and Feinstein have been careful not to absolve the men of wrongdoing, they renewed their concern that prosecutors treated the smuggler far more generously than the two agents, granting him immunity from prosecution and giving him unfettered permission to enter the U.S.

Taking advantage of the entry privilege, Aldrete apparently smuggled another million-dollar marijuana load into the U.S. just months after the shooting, Cornyn said, citing a Drug Enforcement Administration report.

"It is incomprehensible to me that an illegal alien drug smuggler was allowed to violate his immunity agreement, perjure himself and be granted a series of unlimited visas to roam free in our country while two Border Patrol agents were given excessive prison sentences," Cornyn said.

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The Senators should also amend the law to make it clear that the gun crime statute does not apply to law enforcement people operating under color of the law. They should also change the law that makes it a crime for law enforcement to use deadly force to stop someone from fleeing from arrest. Johnny Sutton's bad judgment in prosecuting these border agents has been a continuing embarrassment for the administration and he did not help his case with his appearance before the Senate committee. That is because, his prosecution is easily perceived as an injustice and he does not recognize that fact. I think the chance are remote that the President will overturn the sentence at this point.