National: George Ryan

Multiple sources are now reporting that President Bush has commuted the sentences of border patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Campeon. President Bush has apparently decided against pardoning the two, who were convicted of essentially shooting a drug smuggler without privilege to do so.

I have personally had many go-rounds with commenters here over the propriety of Ramos and Compean’s actions and I think that President Bush has taken the right action in this case. I believe that Ramos and Compean deserved to be punished, but a viable argument can be made in this case that an additional ten years of prison time was excessive given the facts of this case.