WND’s role in bringing justice

By Les Kinsolving

On Thursday Jan. 15, at the White House daily press briefing, I asked Bush press secretary Dana Perino about Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s call on the president to commute what he called the unjust prison sentences of Texans Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.

Responding to my query about these two, who I believe to be unjustly convicted former members of the U.S. Border Patrol, press secretary Perino responded:

“As I said, we haven’t talked about that case from here. We don’t talk about pardons from the podium.”

With that, the Associated Press called for and obtained the end of the briefing.

This was by my remembrance the eighth time I had asked about these two convicted border patrolmen, at these White House briefings where I am WorldNetDaily’s White House correspondent.

Always, the Bush White House press spokesman refused to comment – even though Ramos and Compean were doing months in solitary confinement to protect them from fellow prisoners who are illegal aliens found guilty of drug smuggling.

Never, that I can recall, did any other White House correspondent follow up on my questions about this compelling issue of injustice. But possibly that was because their editors, or bureau chiefs, wanted them to ask other questions – or to avoid this issue.

On the last full day of the presidency of George Bush, the AP reported the following news, headlined: “Bush commutes sentences of former U.S. border agents.”

“In his final acts of clemency, President George W. Bush on Monday commuted the prison sentences of two former U.S. Border Patrol agents whose convictions for shooting a Mexican drug dealer ignited fierce debate about illegal immigration.

“Bush’s decision to commute the sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who tried to cover up the shooting, was welcomed by both Republican and Democratic members of Congress. They had long argued that the agents were merely doing their jobs, defending the American border against criminals. They also maintained that the more than 10-year prison sentences the pair was given were too harsh …

“They were convicted of shooting admitted drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila in the buttocks as he fled across the Rio Grande, away from an abandoned van load of marijuana. The border agents argued during their trials that they believed the smuggler was armed and that they shot him in self-defense. The prosecutor in the case said there was no evidence linking the smuggler to the van of marijuana. The prosecutor also said the border agents didn’t report the shooting and tampered with evidence by picking up several spent shell casings. …”

I may well have made enemies by asking about this case – again and again – while so often there was no follow up from other reporters.

Whatever the consequences to me, I rejoice for these two border patrolmen and their families, and I am glad that finally President Bush reversed this towering injustice to two Texans.

“Thank God for this commutation” said Joseph Farah, editor of WorldNetDaily, who launched a petition and letter-writing campaign that re-energized the Ramos-Campean issues in the last days of Bush’s term. “This will end the sleepless nights for their wives and children. This is the first step toward making those families whole again.”

That letter campaign produced more than 3,000 FedEx letters to the White House.

Ignacio Ramos’ father-in-law, Joe Loya said to WND’s Farah:

“Your reporting had a lot to do with the decision today by President Bush to commute the sentences.”


Les Kinsolving

Les Kinsolving hosts a daily talk show for WCBM in Baltimore. His radio commentaries are syndicated nationally. His show can be heard on the Internet 9-11 p.m. Eastern each weekday. Before going into broadcasting, Kinsolving was a newspaper reporter and columnist – twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for his commentary. Kinsolving's maverick reporting style is chronicled in a book written by his daughter, Kathleen Kinsolving, titled, "Gadfly." Read more of Les Kinsolving's articles here.