The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
January 20, 2009

Bush Commutes Sentences of Two Border Patrol Agents
---------------------------------------------------



In his final full day in office, President Bush commuted the prison
sentences of two former Border Patrol agents who shot an unarmed Mexican
drug smuggler and then tried to cover up the shooting. The agents,
Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, never reported the shooting and tampered
with evidence. They had served two years in jail. Bush technically has
until noon today to issue more pardons, but presidential advisers said
no more were forthcoming. Many conservatives are criticizing Bush for
not pardoning Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff Scooter
Libby for his role in the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame’s identity.
Former Republican Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens was also seeking a pardon.
Stevens was convicted last year of corruption charges.



.