home

Supreme Court Lets Border Agents' Convictions Stand

By Jeralyn, Section Supreme Court
Posted on Mon Mar 23, 2009 at 10:30:00 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

Border Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean lost their bid to have the Supreme Court review their convictions for shooting an unarmed drug smuggler and lying about it.

The agents, already out of prison due to their ten-plus year sentences being commuted to two years by former President Bush, no doubt will be disappointed. I'm not. What's shocking about this case is that some people believe suspected drug dealers from Mexico inevitably deserve to be shot and that it's okay for law enforcement agents to shoot an unarmed suspect who is running away.

< Late Night: Broken Glass | J.P. Morgan to Spend $138 Milllion on Luxury Jets and Hangar >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Supreme Court Lets Border Agents' Convictions Stand | 4 comments (4 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

    Correct me if I'm wrong here (none / 0) (#1)
    by AlkalineDave on Tue Mar 24, 2009 at 09:51:07 AM EST
    but for the people complaining about the length of their sentence, wasn't it pretty close or equal to the mandatory minimum?

    yes (none / 0) (#2)
    by txpublicdefender on Tue Mar 24, 2009 at 11:36:00 AM EST
    The reason the sentence was so long was because of the mandatory sentence for using a firearm in a crime of violence.

    This case infuriated me to no end.  Glenn Beck, Lou Dobbs, and their whole brigades acting like these guys got railroaded for doing their jobs.  BS!  They shot an unarmed person as he was running away.  They then failed to report that they had fired shots at all, and lied to investigators about what happened.  Other border patrol agents following testified against them and detailed their cover-up.  They are a disgrace to the good, decent border patrol agents.  They're not heroes or martyrs, or anything else the punidtocracy tried to make them out to be.  

    Parent

    My brother (none / 0) (#3)
    by AlkalineDave on Tue Mar 24, 2009 at 12:46:48 PM EST
    is a border patrol agent, and I know he could not fire his weapon and not report it.  Firing and not reporting is always wrong, and they all know that.  Unfortunately, mandatory minimums got buried in the Lou Dobbs spectacle.  Everyone on that side was upset by the length of the sentences, but no one thought to bring the mandatory minimum debate up.  Unfortunate in my opinion.

    Parent
    Also (none / 0) (#4)
    by AlkalineDave on Tue Mar 24, 2009 at 12:47:10 PM EST
    thanks for the reply!

    Parent
    Supreme Court Lets Border Agents' Convictions Stand | 4 comments (4 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment