Ramos & Compean Sentences Commuted by Bush

It's about damn time.

WASHINGTON (AP) - In his final acts of clemency, President George W. Bush on Monday commuted the prison sentences of two former U.S. Border Patrol agents whose convictions for shooting a Mexican drug dealer ignited fierce debate about illegal immigration.

Bush's decision to commute the sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who tried to cover up the shooting, was welcomed by both Republican and Democratic members of Congress. They had long argued that the agents were merely doing their jobs, defending the American border against criminals. They also maintained that the more than 10-year prison sentences the pair was given were too harsh.

Rancor over their convictions, sentencing and firings has simmered ever since the shooting occurred in 2005. ...

Compean and Ramos, who have served about two years of their sentences, are expected to be released from prison within the next two months.

Why will it take two months?

Many of us will have a hard time forgetting that President Bush waited until nearly the last possible moment to do the right thing, or the least thing that would satisfy justice.

Sadly, the entire affair exemplified everything that was wrong about Dubya: his internationalism, especially with Mexico, and his blind loyalty to his friends, some of whom were self-aggrandizing zealots like Johnny Sutton, the prosecutor in the case.

I'm sure there will be other, better commentary to link to shortly. As usual, the full AP report is full of quasi-truths and misperceptions.
--------
UPDATE -- The wives of Ramos and Compean were on Glenn Beck's new Fox News Channel show this afternoon. The amazing thing is how their gratitude to President Bush was conveyed despite the fact that he waited so long and apparently gave a little speech about how the former Border Patrol agents would have to live with the shame of their convictions. "I just want to thank him (Bush) for giving us a chance to be a family again," Mrs. Ramos said, a sentiment immediately echoed by Mrs. Compean. Theirs was a class act, a display of graciousness that I hope gets noticed.