Cornyn, Feinstein ask Bush to commute sentences for border agents

Cornyn, Feinstein ask Bush to commute sentences for border agents

Men were convicted for shooting suspected drug dealer Click-2-Listen

By Eunice Moscoso, Ken Herman WASHINGTON BUREAU Thursday, July 19, 2007

WASHINGTON — Two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee urged President Bush on Wednesday to commute the prison sentences of a pair of former Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting an unarmed man and trying to cover it up.

Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said in a letter to the White House that the case involved "prosecutorial overreaching."

"We urge you to commute their prison sentences immediately," they wrote.

The agents, Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos, are serving 12 and 11 years in prison, respectively, for wounding a suspected drug dealer after he entered the United States illegally in a van with more than 700 pounds of marijuana. The suspect, Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, was given immunity to testify against the officers.

Cornyn said in a statement the case "cries out for a commutation that is fair and just."

"It is incomprehensible to me that an illegal alien drug smuggler was allowed to violate his immunity agreement . . . and be granted a series of unlimited visas to roam free in our country while two Border Patrol agents were given excessive prison sentences," he said.

Cornyn said Aldrete violated his immunity agreement in several ways, including not being completely truthful with investigators and refusing to tell them the names of his associates, including his drug source.

At a Senate hearing about the case Tuesday, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, Johnny Sutton, disputed that Aldrete had violated the agreement, saying prosecutors were satisfied with his cooperation.

Sutton also strongly defended the prosecution of the agents, saying they were "not heroes" and "deliberately shot an unarmed man in the back."

The case has become a cause célèbre among conservatives and groups that advocate tougher border controls. Supporters say the agents were wrongly convicted for protecting the United States against an illegal immigrant and criminal.

At the White House, spokesman Tony Snow would not elaborate on the possibility of a commutation for the agents.

"We have made it a practice not to talk about any such deliberations, whether they are ongoing or not, and I'm not going to break that rule in this case," he said.

Snow also noted that the prison terms fell within sentencing guidelines approved by Congress.

"When you have a judge that's obeying federal sentencing guidelines, that's what they're supposed to do," he said.

Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a leading foe of illegal immigration who is seeking the GOP presidential nomination, said Wednesday that he would offer an amendment to an upcoming spending bill that would prevent the Bush administration from using federal money to enforce the agents' sentences.

"This wouldn't be the first time Congress has stepped in and used its authority under the Constitution to overturn a brainless decision by a federal court," he said in a written statement.