Do yourself a favor and take a basic criminal law class sometime.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_v._Garner

The key part is in the first paragraph “[...] when a law enforcement officer is pursuing a fleeing suspect, he or she may use deadly force only to prevent escape if the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.”

A key word missing there (I think, if I remember my case law correctly) is “immediate”. The display of a firearm would be a significant immediate threat. A van full of dope certainly lends itself to probable cause that someone might not be too happy they were going to lose their dope.

Go spend a week down on the border. Go do a ride-along with some of the Agents in El Paso.

Bush is a coward for merely commuting their sentences and not granting them a full pardon. Obama is a coward if he doesn’t clean up Bush’s mistake. And I’ll save some of your posters the trouble by saying I’m a coward for not posting my name and e-mail address to be associated with the reprehensible tone of the content on this post.

I hope stomach cancer runs in your family.

And yes, speaking English is a valid coherent point. Since we have allowed an endless stream of self entitled aliens into our country, they now seem to think we NEED to learn to speak their language.

I say shoot these lazy bastards BEFORE they infect us. What’s the problem with that? I don’t see any. And YES, pot is illegal. I don’t care how innocuous you think it may be to smoke it – it’s ILLEGAL. And smuggling it into the country is illegal and needs to be answered with any force necessary to stop it. BTW, I think many drugs that are now illegal should be legal, but until they are anyone who knowingly is involved with ANY aspect of drug use or trafficking does not deserve any sympathy or benefit of the doubt. He drove a truck into our country with 750 lbs of marijuana in it. That’s a fact and he’s an idiot. I wish the BP agents would have been a better shot and made a fatal shot.

Under federal sentencing guidelines §2A1.2, second-degree murder has a Base Offense Level of 38 (43 is the maximum, with a sentencing guideline of “life” even for offenders in Criminal History Category 1). The federal sentencing guideline for a person convicted of second-degree murder who was a minimal participant in the offense (-4 from Base Offense Level), accepts responsibility for the offense (-2 from Base Offense Level), and cooperates in the investigation or prosecution by quickly entering a guilty plea (-1 from Base Offense Level) is 108-135 months for offenders in Criminal History Category 1. Unless there is a compelling reason to depart from the guidelines, that’s the extreme low-end for a federal murder sentence. Now add the minimum sentence prescribed by statute (18 U.S.C. § 924(c)) for using, carrying, brandishing, or discharging a firearm during and in relation to any crime of violence. I suspect that of those “plenty of cases”, not one was subject to federal sentencing guidelines and § 924(c). And to be clear, no one was (and no one is) sentenced in U.S. courts to solitary confinement (except in the movies).

The Bureau of Prisons makes a distinction between administrative detention and disciplinary segregation. “Inmates housed in disciplinary segregation have significantly fewer privileges than those housed in administrative detention.” (28 CFR § 541.21(a)) Inmates can be segregated for either reason, and segregation for administrative reasons has never been defined as “punitive”. Note that inmates have no right to be or remain in general population–that’s an administrative decision made primarily for the security of the institution and the safety, health, and welfare of the inmates and staff.

Since you bring up cell size, I’ll point out that BOP protective custody units are considered high security units which must have slightly larger cells. Specifically, high security cells less than 75 sq. ft. are rated single-occupancy and 75% of larger cells are rated single-occupancy, while minimum security cells that are only 55 sq. ft. are rated single-occupancy and all larger cells are rated double-occupancy. That’s not too much of a silver lining, though, since inmates in high security special housing units tend to have fewer privileges than those in the general population.

Human contact is not always a good thing in a prison environment, but I’ll assume you mean contact visits. “Ordinarily, an inmate retains visiting privileges while in detention or segregation status. Visiting may be restricted or disallowed, however, when an inmate, while in detention or segregation status, is charged with, or has been found to have committed, a prohibited act having to do with visiting guidelines or has otherwise acted in a way that would reasonably indicate that he or she would be a threat to the orderliness or security of the visiting room.” (28 CFR § 540.50(c)) As for telephone privileges, “except as provided in this rule, the Warden shall permit an inmate who has not been restricted from telephone use as the result of a specific institutional disciplinary sanction to make at least one telephone call each month” (28 CFR § 540.100(b)) and “ordinarily, an inmate who has sufficient funds is allowed at least three minutes for a telephone call.” (28 CFR § 540.101(d)) BOP does not allow in-cell televisions, however, “an inmate in administrative detention shall be permitted to have a radio, provided that the radio is equipped with ear plugs.” (28 CFR § 541.22(d))

No books or magazines? Not a chance. Do you know that you’re passing along misinformation? “Except when precluded by statute (see §540.72 [pertaining to sexually explicit material]), the Bureau of Prisons permits an inmate to subscribe to or to receive publications without prior approval and has established procedures to determine if an incoming publication is detrimental to the security, discipline, or good order of the institution or if it might facilitate criminal activity.” Even inmates in disciplinary segregation are allowed reading material: “Staff shall provide a reasonable amount of non-legal reading material, not to exceed five books per inmate at any one time, on a circulating basis. Staff shall provide the inmate opportunity to possess religious scriptures of the inmate’s faith.” (28 CFR § 541.21(c), basic living standards for segregation)

The conditions of Ramos’s and Compean’s incarceration are lawful and not intended as punishment beyond that ordered by the court. As the convicts say, “If you don’t like it, don’t go to prison.”

Since I, like the OP, am opposed to mandatory minimum sentencing laws on principle, I think the commutations were appropriate and that they should have been accompanied by thousands of others. The conditions of Ramos’s and Compean’s confinement doesn’t enter into it. Had they been in general population they would have had less time on the phone, in visits, watching television, and on the yard–and a lot more time six feet in the ground.

Did someone really use “red diaper baby” as an epithet? Is that a parody troll or is someone stuck in 1964?

There are very real dangers they face every day, and that certainly colors their world and perception of interfacing with other people. I personally am relieved that Pres Bush has commuted their sentences, and like a previous poster, am saddened only that he did not fully pardon them. They ARE heroes. They protect our country daily from scum bag, law breaking thugs that don’t care one bit for a civilzed society complete with rules and humanity.

Against the law to shoot unarmed criminals?!? So every criminal out there that can outrun the police should be allowed to just “run away” from authority to freedom, just because he doesn’t carry a gun? Ridiculous. That’s ok though, because I know there are BP agents out there along with thousands of other brave soldiers of freedom protecting our borders who continue to do their jobs to keep us safe, despite whiny verbally abusive pansies like you sitting in your safe little world sipping your cosmopolitans and spewing liberal rhetoric around like so much poison.

By the way, if you want to call me to talk politics, you won’t need to “press 1″ for English. This is America; English IS OUR LANGUAGE. If you want any other language, go the Hell back to your own country!

In cases where there are drugs in the quantities like this case, “judge, jury, and executioner” is fine with me.

“Comparing Aldrete-Davila to an entrepreneur is akin to calling Adolf Hitler a really, really effective community organizer.”
I have a much more accurate analogy for you:
Saying that police officers who engage in criminal activities (Like the border agents – who will never again work as officers) are “just keeping the country safe” ..is like saying Hitler was keeping Germany safe by exterminating the Jews. Just because you have the power to rule a country – or have been given a badge – does not give you any right to act like a totalitarian thug in the name of “border security.” If you do not realize that there have been countless cases of extraordinarily abusive tactics used by police officers in this country, then you are a bigger fool than I first thought.
However, I would never (nor should anyone else) condone criminal acts that violate a person or one’s property. Being in possession of marijuana does not violate another human being in any way. Please don’t bring up the “evils” of marijuana argument. It is as bankrupt as the idea that by arresting as many individuals as possible who are in possession of weed the demand for it will be reduced. This criminal justice policy has never worked – and it never will. In actuality, the drug laws have enabled the illegal drug trade to flourish.

I find it disturbing that it seems that the various misanthropes that frequent this website seem to vilify Border Patrol Agents, indeed any sort of societal order, and cannonize a drug smuggler. Comparing Aldrete-Davila to an entrepreneur is akin to calling Adolf Hitler a really, really effective community organizer.

Oh, to whoever it was that commented that a free society welcomes everyone, does that include the various rapists, murderers, theives and other social deviants that are caught on a daily basis attempting to cross the border illegally (I know this from personal, first-hand experience)? What of terrorists? People with diseases that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy? We men and women who defend your nation’s front door have or will face these things gladly for the privilige of calling ourselves The Nation’s First Line of Defense.

You’re welcome.

Nobody said “drugs are good” James. I am sure you use alcohol (I do-at least I can be honest about it). So you are a drug user as well. What is bad is when officers are given a pass (and they get a pass way too often in our society) for engaging in criminal acts.

James: “I don’t imagine any border agents will be doing anything even remotely similar to stopping an illegal now, especially if he’s hauling drugs.” Yea, 5 million people just crossed the border last night because agents refused to stop them.. I didn’t notice that story.. Did you?
By the way, Bush is leaving tomorrow..
No pass James. No pass..