Billy the Kid was shot dead by lawman Pat Garrett, who put an end to the outlaw’s murderous career on July 14, 1881. Nearly 130 years later, governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico has supposedly considered granting a pardon that was promised to Billy the Kid by New Mexico’s governor before he was gunned down by Garrett. Garrett’s family descendants are mad at this news saying it is an insult to Garrett.
Hearing more form Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett
Garrett took Billy the Kid in under arrest in 1879 for murdering a county sheriff. As outlined by the Los Angeles Times, William Bonney which is the real name of Billy the Kid, would testify on one more murder in exchange for a pardon by the New Mexico Governor Lew Wallace. Billy the Kid testified while the governor decided not to give the pardon. Billy ended up getting the death sentence through his trial in court. When it was time to transport him to an additional town for his hanging, Billy the Kid murdered two deputies and escaped. Garrett found Billy a couple of months later and shot him when he was sleeping.
Did Pat Garrett kill Billy the Kid?
Billy the Kid’s pardon resurfaced earlier this year when Richardson asked a New Mexico columnist to check with historians to see whether they would support issuing a pardon. Some people wonder if there was somebody else in the bed instead of Billy the Kid who Garrett shot which, the Associated Press reports, is what the governor wants investigated. Skeptics believe Billy the Kid may have lived in Texas until 1950, using the name “Brushy Bill” Roberts. Richardson decided he wanted anything to be right again so he appointed some Santa Fe lawyers to represent the outlaw in his case.
Numerous think Bill Richardson is trying to get publicity
Richardson’s interest in Billy the Kid’s pardon prompted an angry reaction from Garrett’s family. A letter to Richardson from the Garrett family was shown within the El Paso Times saying the governor was making up stories that no longer show the truth and the way great their ancestor really was. “The history of New Mexico has been permanently disfigured by the element of doubt alone,” the Garretts said. Various historians agree, saying there is no need for Richardson to grant a pardon to one of the old west’s most notorious outlaws. “There is no point in restoring the civil rights of a dead man,” historian Drew Gomber told the El Paso Times. “It’s a publicity stunt by the governor”.
Los Angeles Times
articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/14/opinion/la-oe-gardner-billythekid-20100714
Associated Press
google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hLcwJIblvIblKowDQ4Fcr2Ub0nRwD9H9AJEG0
El Paso Times
elpasotimes.com/ci_15626727?source=most_viewed
