Posted by
The Patriot on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 3:17:33 PM
I had my doubts, but I was glad to see the President step up and commute the prison sentence of Lewis "Scooter" Libby. For the "crime" of having an inaccurate memory when attempting to recall when exactly he told someone who Valerie Plame was, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Nevermind that it was not a crime to reveal that she worked in a cubicle at Langley (fortunately for Richard Armitage, who actually first gave that tidbit to a reporter), it was never shown that Libby made a statement which he knew to be untrue ( the legal definition of a lie). He was merely wrong. That certainly does not warrant prison, especially since these days being unable to define the meaning of "is" can be a successful perjury defense.
Still, there are others vastly more deserving of Presidential clemency. Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean of the U.S. Border Patrol currently sit in federal prison in Elkton, Ohio, for the "crime" of shooting an illegal alien and known drug smuggler in the buttocks. They have been incarcerated since January 17th, 2007, when they began serving their 11 and 12 year sentences. They are in protective solitary confinement 23 hours per day, due to the extremely hazardous nature of being a cop in prison.
This is their reward for their efforts in attempting to secure America from foreign invaders. When confronting an armed smuggler who had illegally entered the United States from Mexico with 743 pounds of marijuana, Ramos and Compean fired their weapons, and the real criminal was hit in the backside. (The real criminal, by the way, is the illegal alien smuggling the marijuana. If you guessed it was the Agents, you failed the "I Reside On Planet Earth" test. Keep working on it.)
The smuggler was then granted immunity from prosecution by the U.S. Attorney, so that he could successfully nail the Border Patrol Agents. The smuggler was also given free medical care in El Paso, Texas, and is now filing a $5 million lawsuit against the Border Patrol for violating his civil rights.
Outrageous. Travesty. Unconscionable. Those are just a few of the words I have to describe this situation, and the only ones I can print here. We wonder why the border is such a mess? Put yourself in the shoes of the Border Patrol. Every contact you make with an illegal alien has the potential to become violent, and if you use force to defend yourself, you face the very real prospect of being prosecuted and imprisoned. How willing would you be to confront those who cross into our country illegally? Is it any wonder that our borders have become so porous when we jail those whom we task with defending them? I wouldn't blame any of them if they simply looked the other way.
But Ramos and Compean did not look the other way. They did their duty, despite the risks, and now they sit in prison for it. President George W. Bush has the power to end this with the stroke of a pen, yet he does nothing. By granting full pardons to Ramos and Compean, President Bush could take a big step toward securing our borders by simply reassuring those on the front lines that their nation supports them.
But without a Presidential pardon, the Border Patrol could take one simple measure to avoid this circumstance in the future. Twelve years in prison for shooting a criminal in the butt? I don't think so. Mr. President, pardon these men, or the Border Patrol will just have to give its agents more practice ammo and more time on the firing range. Prison, my ...