FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2009
Contact: Monica Pratt Raffanel media@famm.org
Compean and Ramos Receive Commutations from President Bush
Clemencies Show Need to Reform Mandatory Minimum Laws
WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Bush’s decision today to commute the federal prison sentences of two Texas border agents Ignacios Ramos and Jose Compean shows the clear need for Congress to reform the mandatory minimum laws, says Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM).
Three years ago, Texas border agents Ramos and Compean fired 15 shots at an unarmed Mexican drug smuggler, striking him once as he tried to flee back to Mexico. Both agents are serving mandatory minimum prison sentences of 11 and 12 years for the shooting.
Julie Stewart, president and founder of FAMM, issued the following statement in response to today’s news:
I commend President Bush for granting clemency to Ramos and Compean not because their cases are the most sympathetic, but because they highlight the inflexibility of mandatory minimum sentencing laws, which do not allow the courts to tailor the appropriate punishment to the offender.
Congress needs to get help for its addiction to mandatory sentencing laws. Judges know the facts of the case and can deliver just punishments without Congress tying their hands at sentencing.
Along with everything else, President Obama will now take on the job of deciding which prisoners deserve mercy and a second chance. There are thousands of nonviolent, low-level offenders serving mandatory minimum sentences who deserve a second chance at leading law-abiding, productive lives. Clemency would be less necessary if our sentencing laws make sense, fitting the punishment to the individual and the crime while protecting public safety. President Obama and the new Congress should put fixing these laws at the top of their criminal justice agenda.
Families Against Mandatory Minimums is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that supports fair and proportionate sentencing laws that allow judicial discretion while maintaining public safety. For more information on FAMM, visit www.famm.org or contact Monica Pratt Raffanel at media@famm.org.