Why Are Conservatives So Desperate to Protect These Border Patrol Agents?

I've heard a lot of talk on conservative talk radio about the two Border Patrol agents who were recently sentenced to prison for their conduct related to the attempted arrest of a Mexican low-life drug trafficker. The prevailing wisdom seems to be that these agents "were just doing their job" and have been railroaded by their superiors. Even congressman Duncan Hunter is trying to get the president to issue a pardon.

Andy McCarthy at National Review has a piece today that says these guys deserve to be in jail:

It should be enough to say that the job description for federal agents solemnly sworn to enforce the law does not include the commission of felonies like obstruction of justice and making false statements (in this case, quite intentional, highly material omissions on official government reports). But to state the obvious does not do this matter justice. Not even close.

Here’s the dirty little secret the agents’ partisans never tell in their relentless media rounds. You want to be mad about a miscreant like Aldrete-Davila getting away with importing scads of marijuana into Estados Unidos? Then be mad at … the “heroes.”

The rogue duo had two easy opportunities to arrest Aldrete-Davila: First, when he attempted to surrender and Compean decided it would be better to smash him with the butt of a shotgun than to put cuffs on him, as it was his duty to do; and then, when the “heroes,” having felled the unarmed, fleeing suspect with a bullet fired into his buttocks, decided to leave him there so they could tend to the more important business of covering up the shooting.

Since it’s hard to decipher the facts amid the noise, it’s worth remembering that a jury of twelve impartial Texans convicted the agents of almost all the charges, beyond a reasonable doubt, after a two-and-a-half week trial. Many complain, with some force, about the aggressive charges brought by the government against Compean and Ramos, but you don’t have to like this case to understand that — barring some demonstration of irrationality (and there has been none) — the factual findings necessary to that verdict merit respect. They are certainly more reliable than hype from those with an ax to grind.

I've not been so quick to jump on the Compean/Ramos bandwagon because some of the facts of the case were troubling. If these guys were innocent of wrongdoing, why did they try and cover up the shooting? That cover-up attempt should be a red flag to anyone observing this case, and yet some pretty rational conservatives seem to be ignoring that part of the story.

The real rub for many of them is the effort the Federal Government made to track down the druggee in Mexico, and then grant him immunity to testify against the agents. Nobody wants to reward bad behavior and the idea of going to so much trouble to prosecute an act against a repeat offender drug trafficker strikes many people as wrong.

But, from the examination of the case as put forth by McCarthy, it looks like justice was done and these guys got what they deserved. Read the article and see what you think.