border, I’ve got no problem at all with seeing these guys as heroes doing a dangerous job who then got screwed by their “own side.” And putting them in the general population in prison afterward was another huge form of betrayal by America.

Didn’t really change my perspective on this question much. Again, dark place, the guy pulls what you think is a gun but later turns out to be his wallet? I’m more sympathetic to that than to this case, where the clear and unequivocal testimony is that the guy was in headlong flight in the middle of a deserted area. “Being dark” doesn’t change the equation much.

P.S. Southern Texas is certainly no more lawless than Detroit, Baltimore, Memphis, or dozens of other places I could name off the top of my head.

especially Loredo where you don’t go as a gringo because of all those kidnapped by the gangs and held for ransom if not raped, robed and killed!

And I can tell you San Antonio is no picnic either on the south and east sides since they are on I-35, east I-10 and I-37 which makes San Antonio ground zero for the drug distribution hub from Mexico.

That said…as someone who has worked 12 years a security capacity guarding essential assets in the military, in law enforcement and in the BOP who is well versed in the use of force If the situation were as simple as Glenn Beck reports it, I would say they should never have been convicted and would say Bush should give them a blanket Pardon.

However…as is often the case in instances like this…it’s not so simple…if it’s true the agents in question tried to cover up the shooting and gave false testimony surrounding the incident then we have to wonder why they didn’t just report it if it was a justifiable shooting.

I think there is enough doubt on both sides of this issue to give the agents a Pardon…who cares what the Mexican Government thinks…ot the thug that got shot in the rear end I think…

However I think the pardon should be conditional based on the attempted cover up and the false statements and these guys shouldn’t be entrusted with a law enforcement job again on the federal level!

The “Big Tent” analogy isn’t the correct one…the correct one is a MAGNET…we need to be a MAGNET that draws these independents in who are sick and tired of what’s going on in Washington—Fred Thompson

They will probably not receive a pardon or commutation.

dealing in America with American citizens…where the rules of engagement differ based on the fact that we’re dealing in some respects with national defense where rules of engagement differ significantly than for an officer in a city dealing with citizens…

I personally believe it’s foolishness to bestow Constitutional rights to non citizens and as such don’t think we can afford to be so strict, especially when you consider the border incursions by Mexican Military and the Federales.

In this case however I can’t get past Ramos and Compion giving false statements and trying to cover things up…but on the other hand I can’t get past the political pressure involved as the Mexican Government sought this prosecution and the political nature of this prosecutor. I also can’t get past what the prosecutor did for and with this drug trafficker and the fact that the drug trafficker was allowed to continue to ply his trade under the Imprimatur of the prosecutor and the immunity he gave him during the trial and investigation.

The “Big Tent” analogy isn’t the correct one…the correct one is a MAGNET…we need to be a MAGNET that draws these independents in who are sick and tired of what’s going on in Washington—Fred Thompson

The net result of this case is that 2 border guards are in prison for defending the border against a drug runner.

Now I think they should have been fired for excessive force and for fabricating reports. And maybe even convicted of something. Maybe they did their jobs wrong, but they were doing their jobs. To call them “violent felons” is ridiculous.

But a lengthy prison sentence. No way!

Apart from the travails of the two officers (who have been abused in prison), we have sent (yet another) message that our border control is a joke.

You should really travel to the border areas. And should you fall victim to the gangs of drug runners and kidnappers operating out of the border areas, perhaps we should endorse your response to the plight of the guards.

proves OJ didn’t do it?

“According to the National Border Patrol Council, “Three of the 12 jurors later submitted sworn affidavits alleging that they had been misled into believing that there could be no dissent in the decision of the jury, and that the minority would have to accede to the will of the majority. Despite this cloud over the propriety of the process, the judge refused to overturn the verdict.”

In other words, the best you can say is 9 peers disagreed… but that’s allowing for the belief that, of the 9 remaining who were not compelled to actually take the time to submit sworn affidavits, no one elsel felt pressured to “accede to the will of the majority” as well, even though they believed the men to be innocent.

http://www.amw.com/features/feature_story_detail.cfm?id=1369

Criminal prosecution is another entirely, and the criminal law does not give a squat if department policy was complied with.

Since the mid eighties when a punk was acquitted after shooting two cops we have had one of the highest ratios of officer involved shootings to population in the nation. So far, exactly none have been deemed improper in over twenty years.

Law officers, I support totally. Criminals with badges, not at all.

It isn’t even challenged that they didn’t know the guy’s identity at the time, just that he was suspicious. And I am opposed to shooting unarmed people in the back in general, I was just asking for clarification from the previous post.