It would take pages and pages to say what I am grateful to George Bush for in his presidency. He kept us safe, he changed the rules on how we deal with terrorists, he gave victory and freedom to the people in Iraq, he gave other people in the world the hope of freedom, and he modeled steadfastness. But--I am totally thankful for what he did yesterday in commuting two jail sentences.
According to Yahoo.com (Associated Press), President Bush, responding to heavy pressure from Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike, commuted the prison sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. The two guards from El Paso, Texas, each were sentenced to more than 10 years for the shooting, which they tried to cover up. They will be released within two months.
I was not on the jury that tried this case, so I don't have all the information that the jurors have, but from where I sit the sentencing was extreme and the whole situation was out of hand. The man who was shot was a drug dealer avoiding capture. They fired. He was shot. There were circumstatces linking him to a van of drugs, and evidently he had a history of drug trafficking. Again, I wasn't on the jury, but it seems to me that we need to look at the whole picture in terms of protecting our citizens and country from drug dealers and criminals coming across the border. I'm sorry if the belief is that excessive force is used, but the conviction of the policemen rather than the drug dealer does not send a good message..
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