 Imprisoned agent Jose Compean |
Imprisoned Border Patrol agent Jose Compean is so excited about former President George Bush’s decision to commute his sentence that he began “talking nonstop,” his wife told WND.
“I just spoke to him a little while ago, and he’s very excited,” Patty Compean said. “He’s just gushing with ideas about what he wants to do. I had Monica, and my family and you guys and supporters to talk to. But he really doesn’t have anybody but the guards.”
Compean asked Patty to relay a message.
“He wanted me to tell everybody ‘Thank you,'” she said.
Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos were convicted and imprisoned for an encounter with now-convicted drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila. He had dropped one-third of a ton of drugs in the United States and was fleeing back into Mexico when the officers shot at him and wounded him.
He was granted full immunity in exchange for testimony against the agents. While on that grant of immunity, he was involved in another drug smuggling incident, for which he later was convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison. He was not charged for the first incident.
As one of his final acts before retiring to his Texas home, Bush commuted the agents’ sentences. The agents are scheduled to return home on March 20.
‘We just hugged and started crying’
Patty said she and Monica were getting ready to appear on the Glenn Beck Show. They received phone calls from a producer and reporter on Monday morning. The voices on the lines kept congratulating her, but she didn’t know why.
“I was like, ‘Thank you, but for what?'” Patty said.
“She told me, ‘Your husband, he’s coming home.'”
Patty decided to tell Monica the good news.
“I could hear screaming at the top of her lungs,” she said. “I opened the door and asked, ‘is it true?'”
Monica said, “Yes! You heard it too?”
Patty replied, “Yes!”
“And then we just hugged and started crying,” she said. “It was surreal.”
 Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila |
Not everyone is happy
Patty said she and Monica read in El Diario, a Spanish newspaper, that Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila’s wife was very upset that the agents received sentence commutations while her husband serves prison time for another drug conviction.
“I feel her pain and her frustration,” Patty said. “She’s in this predicament because her husband made a choice. That choice had consequences and affected her family. Now they’re dealing with it.”
She continued, “I only wish that my husband’s supervisors would have supported our guys.”
Homecoming surprise
Patty said she hasn’t told her sons the good news yet.
“I discussed that with Jose,” she said. “I asked, ‘Do you want me to tell them?'”
But the Compeans decided to keep the homecoming a secret because their son, Eric Alonso, 4, will have a birthday on March 29.
Jose told Patty, “You know what, just hold off. I want to surprise him. I want to be his birthday present.”
Their daughter, Anna Belle, 14, is “very happy and excited,” she said.
David Antonio, 2, their youngest son, has never experienced life with a father because he was only 3 months old when his father went to prison.
“He gets a father!” Patty said happily. “And Jose gets a 2-year-old son.”
When the agents finally come home, there will be some adjusting, Patty said.
“They’ve been in solitary confinement without any human contact except for the guards and visitors for two years,” she said. “Things have changed. Jose’s been gone for two years. That’s a lot to take in.”
Several media personalities have asked to witness the homecoming, including Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity, but Patty said she is unsure of whether she wants a crowd.
“Everybody has contributed in one way or another to this,” she said. “Honestly, at this point, I’d love to have people there, but at the same time, I want to have that moment for us. It’s been two years.”
 Patty Compean (left), Monica Ramos (right). Boys on wives’ laps are Compean’s sons Eric Alonso and David Antonio. Boys in back are Ramos’ sons, Aaron and Ryan. Ramos’ son, Jacob, and Compean’s daughter, Anna Belle, are in front. (photo: Ramos, Compean families) |
Life after prison
When asked if her family has plans to file lawsuits, Patty responded, “I think right now what we are focusing on is the homecoming, the reuniting, starting to build our new foundation and to take it from there and start working on clearing their names. That’s it, and then we’ll see. I don’t know. But right now, that’s not on the agenda.”
She said the families are excited about the good news for now.
“What matters is that Bush signed the commutation papers, and that leads to our families reuniting again,” Patty said. “All I have to say to George Bush right now is thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
Her family does not have plans for books or movies as of yet.
“One step at a time,” she said. “This isn’t over yet. How are you going to write a book when you don’t have an ending yet?”
The Compean and Ramos families are still awaiting response from the Supreme Court in their quest to clear the agents. Under a commutation, they still carry the felony conviction, although they will be released from prison. In the meantime, Patty asked for continued support.
“We hope you guys stay with us,” she said. “It’s not over. We want to get their names cleared. We would appreciate it if you guys would be with us on this journey.”
