Justice Delayed

Kudos to President George Bush in his decision today to commute the sentences of former U.S. Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Campean - the two agents who were given more than 10 years in prison for shooting a Mexican drug dealer.

The two men who have been serving their sentences since January, 2007 are expected to be released in the next two months.

File this one under better late than never.

From the AP.

WASHINGTON 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. The former border guards in El Paso, Texas, are expected to be released from prison within the next two months.

"After four years of fighting this, it's taken a toll on me and my daughter, and really the whole family," said Joe Loya, Ramos' father-in law, who has received tens of thousands of supportive e-mails and spent much of the past two years traveling the country to speak about the case.

He said his daughter, Monica Ramos, called from New York after learning the news that her husband was to be released from a federal prison just outside Phoenix.

"She could hardly speak," Loya said.

Ramos and Compean became a rallying point among conservatives and on talk shows where their supporters called them heroes. Nearly the entire bipartisan congressional delegation from Texas and other lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle pleaded with Bush to grant them clemency... Read More

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