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I think Johnny Sutton is beginning to feel himself being settled squarely in the crosshairs. It won't be long before the entire country knows what a travesty of justice was perpetrated in that Texas courtroom. I expect that all involved in the railroading of these two Border Patrol agents will come under fire as well.
In my opinion, Bush deserves to carry the shame of his own failure to act as a part of his failed presidency.
Judge E. Grady Jolly, one of three judges from the 5th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals said today that federal prosecutors
(Johnny Sutton and his team) "may have overreacted in their
case against" Ramos and Compean.
The agent's attorneys are asking the 5th Circuit to throw out
the charges--especially in light of the recent arrest of
Osvaldo Alrete-Davila, the drug smuggler whose testimony
put the two border agents in prison!
Referencing the harsh, decade long prison terms, Jolly questioned
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Steimach saying, "It does seem
to me that the government overreacted here."
No word was given as to when a ruling might be handed down.
Great news! I hope they let them out soon AND reappoint them to their jobs, with DAMAGES and back pay awarded. I doubt if they'd want their old jobs back seeing how they were treated, and by their own government no less.
Thanks again for the update, Kele . . . you've become our very own Greta! ! ! ! !
I was only able to catch part of CNN's Glenn Beck last night and there was no mention of this fiasco.
Hopefully, tonight!
I've worked and protested for their release. I got to meet both Monica Ramos and Joe Loya at a couple of different protests. My heart just aches for the families of both of these American Heroes. They have been royally shafted by the country they only wanted to serve. If there is a bigger case of injustice in the U.S. courts right now, I don't know what it is.
When they're freed (and they will be freed) they should sue the hell out of the US Government! This is one time that the courts SHOULD hang the government by their balls.
Did ya'll know that there is a movie that is going to be made about them? Yep, and I, for one, can't wait to see it.
Since this thread has been an update to the situation, I think it is important to restate the original case, and provide some historical perspective as to what lead to the original convictions:
Prosecutors in Sutton's office considered the conduct of Ramos and Compean outrageous enough that the two men were charged with seven and nine counts, respectively. Both were charged with assault with intent to commit murder. At trial, government prosecutors presented a case, supported by eyewitness testimony, that alleged the following: On Feb. 17, 2005, Aldrete-Davila led Border Patrol agents on a high-speed car chase that ended at a ditch about 120 yards from Mexico. Aldrete-Davila abandoned a van with 743 pounds of marijuana inside and made a dash for the border. Compean, on foot, intercepted Aldrete-Davila, who put his hands in the air to surrender.
At that point, according to trial testimony, Compean tried to hit Aldrete-Davila with the butt of his shotgun, missed, and fell into the 11-foot-deep ditch. Aldrete-Davila took off running. Compean climbed out of the ditch, shot at him 14 times and missed. Ramos, who had watched Compean fall, then fired once. The bullet entered Aldrete-Davila's left buttock, severed his urethra and came to rest in his right thigh. He fell down, but got back up, escaping across the Rio Grande into Mexico. The two agents then covered up the incident. Compean hid some of the shell casings and asked a third agent returning to the scene later that day to dispose of the rest. Neither Ramos nor Compean ever reported the shooting. They were arrested a month later, and then only because America's border with Mexico is like a very long and skinny small town. Aldrete-Davila's mother is friends with the mother-in-law of Rene Sanchez, a Border Patrol agent in Arizona. After hearing about the incident from his mother-in-law, Sanchez sent a report to the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, which then dispatched a special agent to Texas to investigate.
At trial in the federal courthouse in El Paso, Border Patrol agents from the Fabens station took the stand to testify against Ramos and Compean. Fellow agents, including one who had observed the shooting, contradicted Compean's story about where he was and how he was positioned when he fired his weapon. The agent who had helped Compean hide shell casings admitted it under oath. Prosecutors showed that Compean had repeatedly changed his story about the shooting and that it didn't match Ramos' account. They were also able to show that although Compean had discussed the shooting with other agents after it happened, it wasn't until his arrest that he began claiming that Aldrete-Davila had had a gun.
Of course they say nothing about how the drug runner lied and lied and lied. They also don't say how they threatened the people to make them testify against their co-workers.
Since this thread has been an update to the situation, I think it is important to restate the original case, and provide some historical perspective as to what lead to the original convictions:
Actually, I'd say that's Alex Koppelman's opinion of what happened. Certainly not the historical prespective.
This is Joe Loya's version of what happened. Joe is the father-in-law of Agent Ramos.
My name is Joe Loya. I am the father- in- law of Border Patrol agent Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Ramos. He was sentenced on October 22nd 2006 to 11years and one day in federal prison for the wounding of and illegal, admitted drug smuggler from Mexico. His fellow agent, Jose Compean was sentenced to 12 years.
There are plenty of versions of what actually took place when two Border Patrol agents, Ramos and Jose Compean, tried to chase down a drug smuggler in Fabens, Texas, 29 miles east of El Paso. But, unless you were there; unless you were present for the twelve day trial; unless you paid $9,000.00 to read the 3000 pages of transcripts; unless you spoke with their fellow officers; unless you saw the affidavits from jurors who claimed that they were bullied into going along with the conviction, you cannot appreciate the enormity of this outrage. I have spent 20 months and hundreds of hours investigating this case because of the lies of the smuggler, the unethical prosecutos and 2 agents who were given proffer letters, or immunity, in exchange for their testimony against the two agents. Please read my account of what really happened that day and than please, do everything you can to persuade President Bush to issue an immediate pardon to these two fine agents. MORE...................
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