Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Mickey1992 on January 19, 2009, 01:18:39 PM

Title: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: Mickey1992 on January 19, 2009, 01:18:39 PM
I was hoping he was going to do this before leaving office.  Lou Dobbs is going to have to find something else to squeak about every evening now.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090119/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_pardons
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: firbal on January 19, 2009, 01:49:15 PM
It's about time. They should never have been charged to begain with.
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: Chalenge on January 19, 2009, 02:27:19 PM
A little too late. These two guys have seen more then too much 'punishment.'
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: ROX on January 19, 2009, 02:29:43 PM
A little too late. These two guys have seen more then too much 'punishment.'


I'll amen to that.



ROX
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: DMBEAR on January 19, 2009, 02:30:31 PM
They should get an award and an apology.
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: eagl on January 19, 2009, 03:35:32 PM
A few points...

If you shoot, shoot to kill, and keep shooting until the target is dead dead dead.
This should have been a pardon, not merely commuting the sentence.
The pardon should have happened months ago.

Yea they ought to have reported it, but they shouldn't have let the guy escape either.  Regardless, the way they were hung out to dry was despicable.
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: Shuffler on January 19, 2009, 04:37:22 PM
The problem occured not from the shooting but trying to cover it up. If they would not have tried to cover it up all would probably been fine.

I'm glad they will be released....
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: bj229r on January 19, 2009, 04:54:15 PM
The problem occured not from the shooting but trying to cover it up. If they would not have tried to cover it up all would probably been fine.

I'm glad they will be released....
I kept hearing allegations of 'coverup' but I never saw exactly what it was they supposedly kept from the supervisors
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: oakranger on January 19, 2009, 05:14:04 PM
see rule #14
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: Sabre on January 19, 2009, 05:39:27 PM
A few points...

If you shoot, shoot to kill, and keep shooting until the target is dead dead dead.
This should have been a pardon, not merely commuting the sentence.
The pardon should have happened months ago.

Yea they ought to have reported it, but they shouldn't have let the guy escape either.  Regardless, the way they were hung out to dry was despicable.

Agree.  As it is, these two will have criminal records for the rest of their lives.  Still, I'm glad they're being freed.  Only question is, what took so long?  Why was this an eleventh hour commuting?
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: Hungry on January 19, 2009, 06:00:29 PM
I kept hearing allegations of 'coverup' but I never saw exactly what it was they supposedly kept from the supervisors

The article on Yahoo news reported that they didn't report the shooting until later and something about picking up and removing the bullet casings to conceal the number of shots fired? 

They shot him in the butt, that would seem like everyones dream laugh come true while guarding the border. 

Pop up and when they run bam in the cheek.  The one other item the defense used was that the smuggler could not be clearly identified with the van found to hold the pot.
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: Babalonian on January 19, 2009, 06:12:24 PM
A few points...

If you shoot, shoot to kill, and keep shooting until the target is dead dead dead.
This should have been a pardon, not merely commuting the sentence.
The pardon should have happened months ago.

Yea they ought to have reported it, but they shouldn't have let the guy escape either.  Regardless, the way they were hung out to dry was despicable.

I agree, but I'm still pissed at Bush over this.  1) As you said, he's only commuted their sentence, not a full pardon.  2) He commuted their sentence and they are still stuck in jail until 3-20-2009. 3) It took both parties to pressure Bush to just commute their sentences... I think Bush has something personal against them.
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: Chalenge on January 19, 2009, 09:42:21 PM
I think it has to be with living right next to Mexico? The Mexican Army regularly escorts these drug smugglers into the U.S. and they have the government of Mexico scared. I doubt Texas is too worried but the criminal aspects could easily worsen. Not sure what the whole story is.
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: Tango on January 20, 2009, 06:57:05 AM
My brother [hes an I.C.E. agent] said the big mistake was not reporting the shooting. If they had, there wouldn't have been any problems. There would have been an investigation, but thats just the procedure.

Strange thing is why they didn't report it.
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: bongaroo on January 21, 2009, 09:14:37 AM
The problem occured not from the shooting but trying to cover it up.

Still pisses me off.
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: smkelly13 on January 21, 2009, 12:11:32 PM
This was one hell of a black eye for the United States.  I was in the process of becoming a customs & border patrol agent, and am still waiting for a call-back, I passed their tests with flying colors, every one of them.

These two men were doing their jobs, obviously feeling it necessary to engage the target with deadly force.  Imagine a truck running a screening check in Iraq?  The soldiers, or Marine would light the person up.

I thought we had an ongoing war against drugs anyway?
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: bongaroo on January 21, 2009, 12:32:42 PM
They decided to use deadly force.  It was probably needed.

The huge problem is that they attempted to cover it up.  Thats disgusting and seems to indicate that after the fact they questioned whether lethal force was necessary.  Shame on them and shame on us for letting them walk away from it.

I thought we had an ongoing war against drugs anyway?

We're at war with a lot of things that we're never going to win.  I may be a prime example myself.   :rofl
Title: Re: Bush commutes sentences of former US border agents
Post by: Chalenge on January 21, 2009, 01:20:28 PM
I dont believe picking up their shell casings rises to the level of a coverup but then I reload myself so maybe specific insight has me looking at it from a different angle.

You would be surprised how many people in the past (East Germany for example) were shot after making it across the border...