In the closing days of his Presidency, George Bush commuted the prison sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Campean – two former US Border Patrol Agents who were arrested in an incident involving the shooting of a Mexican drug dealer in 2005.
This is a controversial case arising from a pursuit by multiple Border Patrol Agents along the Rio Grande River near El Paso.
In an amazing case which has drawn the ire of talk radio personalities around the country as an example of bureaucratic prosecution gone mad, the two veteran Border Patrol Agents were charged with violating the civil rights of the fleeing suspect who happened to have 800 pounds of Marijuana in his van.
The agents, who admit that they did not report the discharge of their firearms in violation of policy were sentenced to more than ten years in prison.
Additional discussion of the facts of the case may be found < here > and <here>. Members of Congress of both parties had called for the release of Ramos and Campean.
President Bush did not pardon the two, merely commuted their sentences, in effect to time served. Both are expected to be released from federal custody within 60 days. The President believes that their conviction had been reviewed by the courts and met the standards for due process, but that he felt that the sentences had been too harsh.
Additional information on the actions of the President in these cases may be found <here>
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