by Michael Kunzelman, GOPUSA: Federal prosecutors appear to have ''overreacted'' in their pursuit of a case against two Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a fleeing drug suspect and hiding evidence, one of three judges considering an appeal said Monday.Jose Alonso Compean is serving 12 years in prison and Ignacio Ramos 11 years for assault, obstruction of justice and civil rights violations in the wounding of Osvaldo Aldrete Davila on the border near El Paso, Texas, in 2005. The agents want the convictions thrown out; they claim the shooting was a case of self-defense but acknowledge not reporting the incident.
If the agents had reported the shooting as required, ''this prosecution never would have occurred, in all likelihood,'' said Judge E. Grady Jolly, part of the three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing the case. Noting the severity of the charges and the lengthy sentences prosecutors sought, Jolly said, ''It does seem to me like the government overreacted here.''
Conservative lawmakers and other critics have called the prosecution unjustified and the sentences extreme. They note that Aldrete was given immunity from prosecution for allegedly trying to smuggle drugs the day he was shot, and that jurors weren't allowed to hear allegations that he smuggled marijuana into the United States several months after the shooting. Aldrete was arrested last month following an October indictment on various drug charges.
Another member of the 5th Circuit panel, Judge Patrick Higginbotham, said evidence that Aldrete made multiple attempts to smuggle drugs across the border ''strikes me as very relevant.'' The judges didn't indicate when they will rule on the appeals . . . [Read More]
Tags: 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, border guards, Ignacio Ramos, Jose Compean To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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