In hearing the news today in which President George W. Bush commuted the prison sentence for a known liar in I. Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby, it angers me that two border agents still remain in jail protecting the citizens of this country.
I have written of them before and their names are Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean. Exactly how was justice served in commuting Libby’s impending prison sentence instead of these border agents? These border agents are now serving eleven to twelve years respectively for doing the jobs they were sworn to do and that is to protect this nation from drug dealers such as Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila. This drug dealer as I have written was given immunity for the original charge and given an extended immunity so that U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton could prove his case to the jurors. What was not told to these jurors is that this drug dealer had broken our laws subsequent to the original charge that led to these border agents being arrested.
While many of the newscasters stated today that this commutation by President Bush would appease his conservative base; I want to ask this same conservative base; where is your condemnation of this president for allowing two of our border agents to languish in prison? Who is more important to you? Is it Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff or two border agents?
Libby’s impending prison sentence would have been served at a Club Med style federal prison which houses minimum security prisoners. Meanwhile Ramos and Compean are serving hard time in which Ramos is housed in solitary confinement so that other inmates do not kill him.
Here we have a president supporting a law breaker while he turns his back on those who only looked to uphold the laws of this nation. Where is the justice in this commutation? Where are our elected leaders on both sides of the political aisle to demand that President Bush pardon both Ramos and Compean? Some have come to their aid such as GOP presidential candidate Duncan Hunter and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif. I would like to know exactly where the voices of other elected senators and congress members are.
As Americans are listening to presidential candidates on both sides of the political aisle absent from any of them with the exception of Hunter are the names of Ramos and Compean. All of them claim to want our nation to be secure, yet two border agents who were sworn to uphold the laws of our land are rotting in prison.
You know this is where the real injustice can be found as congress has grilled Alberto Gonzales, yet they remain mute. They think gotcha moments in which they are trying to pin down Karl Rove is far more important than this abandonment of our border agents to sit and rot in prison. Forget those emails, and demand justice for Ramos and Compean.
We have all witnessed the ineptitude of this government as the ‘Grand Compromise’ on illegal immigration has come to the floor two times in which many are clamoring for border security. Absent in this debate from our elected leaders are the names of Ramos and Compean. Who exactly would wish to become a border agent knowing full well they can be imprisoned for doing their jobs?
Protecting our nation means that men like Libby serve their sentence for obstruction of justice as prosecutors were looking into who outed Valerie Plame-Wilson. It also means that we do not punish border agents.
While President Bush is provided by our U.S. Constitution to make this executive decision in which no recourse can be taken, what we can do in the name of justice is to contact every single elected official in Washington, D.C. to demand that both Ramos and Compean are pardoned immediately. I think that will offset any injustice Americans are feeling today. Let these good men, Ramos and Compean go back home to their loving families, President Bush.
Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net
