Believe In America.com

butterbean · Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 2271

Supporters of two imprisoned former U.S. Border Patrol agents have seized on newly released trial transcripts to pick apart the government's case, using the court papers to renew their calls for a pardon.

Under mounting pressure from Congress and the public, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas this week posted on the Internet reams of transcripts from the highly controversial court proceedings in El Paso last spring. Instead of quieting critics, the papers have fueled new calls for the release of former agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, who have been sentenced to 11 and 12 years in prison, respectively.

A loose-knit coalition of Republican congressmen and conservative radio talk show hosts has raised the profile of the case in recent months, arguing that the prosecution unfairly targeted federal agents, while letting a suspected marijuana smuggler walk free.

Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, who was shot at by the agents in February 2005, was granted limited immunity in exchange for his testimony and has discussed filing a $5 million lawsuit against the federal government.

"The government has been saying all along, 'Just wait until this transcript comes out and you'll see why we prosecuted them,' " said T.J. Bonner, the president of the National Border Patrol Council, which advocates on behalf of agents. "Well, the transcript is out, and I still don't see why they prosecuted them. Their case is, if anything, weaker today than it ever was.

"This just proves that they went after the wrong guy," he said.

continued:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4555046.html