Posted: 2/14/2007 5:12:20 AM EDT
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Transcripts of border agents' trial released Sara A. Carter, Staff Writer Article Launched: 02/14/2007 12:00:00 AM PST Federal prosecutors on Tuesday released the long-awaited transcript from the trial of two El Paso, Texas, area Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a drug smuggler and covering up their actions. At the same time, the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the request of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has agreed to hold hearings on the agents' case as early as the end of the month. Feinstein has said she is concerned the agents' prison sentences were too harsh and that questions about the case need to be answered. Former Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean are serving 11 and 12 years, respectively, for shooting Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila in the buttocks Feb. 17, 2005, during an incident at the Texas-Mexico border. The agents admitted to picking up shell casings after firing at Aldrete-Davila, and did not file a report about the incident with their supervisors. They were convicted last spring on multiple charges, notably assault with a deadly weapon. U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, whose office prosecuted the case, has come under fire in recent months for not having a full trial transcript available for review, since the agents were convicted nearly a year ago. Sutton made the transcript - certified copies of which cost $8,000 - available online through the US. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas. The link is www.usdoj.gov/usao/txw/press_releases/Compean-Ramos/index.html. White House officials would not comment on the release of the transcript, but press secretary Tony Snow said in an interview with a San Diego radio station three weeks ago that the White House was awaiting the release of the transcript to review the case. Snow, who emphasized that a jury has already convicted the agents, said President Bush would consider a pardon for the agents only if the facts support one. Feinstein sent letters this week to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner W. Ralph Basham and Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Harley G. Lappin, requesting information on the agents' case. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has agreed to continue a committee investigation into the prosecution and sentencing of Compean and Ramos. "I strongly believe that the sentences in this case are too extreme given the criminal background of Mr. Aldrete-Davila and his possession of large quantities of drugs, and given the fact that Mr. Aldrete-Davila had physically resisted at least one attempt by agents Ramos and Compean to bring him into custody," Feinstein wrote in her letter to Gonzales. "In addition, to my knowledge, neither of the agents had prior convictions or any other aggravating circumstances to warrant particularly harsh treatment under the law. Yet these men were given sentences that some individuals who are convicted of murder wouldn't receive." Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, who has spoken with Snow and other White House officials about Ramos and Compean, said the case against the agents warrants congressional review. "Now that the transcripts are out, the White House can no longer use them as an excuse to put off making a decision," Rohrabacher said Tuesday. Last week, Ramos was beaten by six inmates at Yazoo Correctional Complex in Mississippi, where he is serving his sentence. With the assistance of Feinstein's office, Ramos' wife, Monica, visited her husband Monday for the first time since he was transferred from El Paso. The Ramoses spent about seven hours together, and he was able to call his three young sons after she left the prison, Monica Ramos said. "I can't begin to tell you how wonderful it was to see him and hug him," Monica Ramos said. "I didn't want to leave him. He prays, like we do every day, for justice and that the truth will come out." |
 I mean bravo, but who saw this one comin'? |