The Punishment Does Not Fit the Crime

On February 17, 2005, Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean noticed a suspicious van attempting to cross the border from Mexico into Texas. The agents took steps to apprehend the van which caused the driver of the van, Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, to jump out of the vehicle and flee on foot back towards Mexico. Agent Compean engaged in a physical struggle with Aldrete -Davila and when agent Ramos arrived on the scene Aldrete - Davila pointed what appeared to be a gun at the agents. Both agents fired on Aldrete- Davila but he escaped on foot.

Agents Ramos and Compean had repeatedly called for back-up during the confrontation and soon seven additional agents had arrived on the scene, including two supervisors. The supervisors were made aware that shots had been fired so agents Ramos and Compean, in violation of required agency procedures, failed to file a written report disclosing the fired shots. According to Border Patrol regulations, this should have earned agents Ramos and Compean a five-day suspension. What they actually received should outrage all Americans.

After learning that shots had been fired, the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security tracked Aldrete-Davila down, paid for his medical treatment for a bullet wound to his buttocks, and gave him full immunity in exchange for his testimony against the agents. He received immunity for illegally entering the country, immunity for physically attacking a Border Patrol Agent, and immunity for the two shipments of nearly 800 pounds of marijuana that Aldrete-Davila was attempting to smuggle into the United States. Adding insult to injury, Aldrete -Davila subsequently filed a $5 million lawsuit against the United States, claiming that his civil rights had been violated.

The United States has perhaps the world's best criminal justice system with multiple safeguards in place to prevent innocent people from being unjustly convicted. But sometimes our system fails. In the case of Ramos and Compean, it failed spectacularly. A Texas jury convicted the agents for discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence - a verdict with an automatic ten year sentence. Agent Compean received 12 years in prison and Agent Ramos got 11 years.

The magnitude of this injustice is truly mind boggling. A violent illegal immigrant with a van full of drugs can brazenly breach our sovereign border, engage in a physical confrontation with U.S. law enforcement officials and then be given immunity in exchange for testimony against the men charged with protecting our communities. Aldrete-Davila has attempted to portray himself as a victim in this saga but nothing could be further from the truth. The victims in this story are clearly agents Ramos, Compean and the American justice system.

But as I noted earlier, the American system of justice has several safeguards to preserve justice for innocent people. That is why I wrote to President Bush last week and urged him to do the right thing by issuing full and complete pardons for agents Ramos and Compean. The facts surrounding their case do not merit the harsh and excessive punishment they were given. By any objective standard, these men are not criminals and do not deserve to be behind bars for one more day. President Bush can, and should, correct this miscarriage of justice before he leaves office.

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