Bush Commutes 2 Border Agents’ Sentences

The former agents, Jose A. Compean and Ignacio Ramos, will be freed from federal prison in less than two months as a result of Mr. Bush’s commutation, cutting short prison terms that were due to run at least eight more years. The two men, both of El Paso, were convicted on assault charges for shooting the unarmed, fleeing drug smuggler in the buttocks in 2005 and then trying to cover up the episode.

Federal prosecutors in Texas mounted a vigorous and unusual defense of the convictions, saying that they could not “look the other way” after the agents shot an unarmed man and then lied to their supervisors about it.

This case had me torn, they were convicted by a jury of their peers and what they did brought shame to all law enforcement officials. Their job is hard enough as it is, they don't need a few bad apples causing people to question their integrity. At the same time, they are real people who made a mistake and now their families suffer along with them.

I think Bush did the right thing. Even though there are much more deserving people who could have used clemency, I find comfort in the fact that soon a father will be reunited with his children and a husband will come home to his wife. They will never be allowed to own a firearm again, will never work in law enforcement, and the record of the conviction will stand. They will also no longer be a danger to society and now their families will not have to suffer for their crime.