President Bush, in his last full day in the White House,
commuted the sentences of Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean,
who are in prison for shooting an unarmed Mexican drug smuggler.
The case of Ramos and Compean was initially a cause
célèbre for conservatives who favor tight border security. However, other
lawmakers have picked up their cause and applied pressure on the Bush administration
to pardon them or at least commute the 11- and 12-year prison sentences.
{mosads}“In reaching his decision, the president closely
considered the views of people around the country who believe that the
sentences these two men received were too harsh,” a White House official said.
“A number of senators and congressmen from both parties and all parts of the
country have expressed their strong view that Ramos and Compean’s sentences
should be commuted. This includes almost the entire bipartisan delegation
from Texas, the state in which the crimes occurred.”
Ramos and Compean shot Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, a Mexican marijuana
smuggler who was trying to escape, in the buttocks. The two men argued they
thought Davila was armed.
The official said Bush “reviewed the circumstances of
this case as a whole and the conditions of confinement and believes the
sentences they received are too harsh and that they, and their families, have
suffered enough for their crimes.”
Among those who argued for pardons or commutations were
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Sen. Kay Bailey
Hutchison (R-Texas), Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.), Rep. Silvestre Reyes
(D-Texas), Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), Rep.
Artur Davis (D-Ala.) and Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-Texas). Incoming White House
chief of staff and former Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) also expressed support for
reducing the sentences.
“The president agrees with the legislators and many other
Americans who believe the sentences Ramos and Compean received are excessive
and should be commuted. Commuting their sentences does not diminish the
seriousness of their crimes,” the White House official said. “Ramos and Compean
are convicted felons who violated their oaths to uphold the law and have been
severely punished. This commutation gives them an opportunity to return to
their families and communities, but both men will have to carry the burden of
being convicted felons and the shame of violating their oaths for the rest of
their lives.”