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Ramos' Attorney Discusses Possibility Of Pardon

Posted: 8:03 pm MST February 17, 2009Updated: 10:28 pm MST February 17, 2009

Attorney Mary Stillinger represented Ignacio Ramos at trial. KFOX caught up with her and she said though he is now back home, the fight for Ramos’s freedom is far from over.

“Thrilled,” said Stillinger about Tuesday's release. “Absolutely thrilled.”

Stillinger spoke with her former client Ignacio Ramos moments after his release from solitary confinement at a Phoenix federal prison.

“He is a little overwhelmed, which I am not surprised. He really didn't have the words to describe how he felt,” she described. “I'm not sure I would have the words either, but his family is thrilled and I'm sure it will take a little time for him to decompress and get back to his normal life, it may take a long time actually.”

Though both Ramos and Jose Compean have commuted sentences, Stillinger said they must still live with a tainted record. They are legally considered criminals, and only one thing can free them from that.

“The commutation is a whole lot better than nothing because it gets him out of the little room he was confined to but I suspect they will still keep pushing for a pardon,” she said.

When we asked El Paso Rep. Silvestre Reyes about it at a press conference, he hadn’t even heard news of the agents' release, but he did address the possibility.

“ Whether or not they get a pardon will be determined towards the end of this administration, the Obama administration,” said Reyes. “There is a system in place to do that but I cannot speak for them because they would have to initiate that.”

In the meantime, Stillinger said Ramos, like Compean, will finish up his house arrest then move into supervised release, otherwise known as probation. There are no details yet on how long a probation either man faces.
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