Notorious outlaw Billy the Kid, born Henry McCarty but better known as William H. Bonney, has remained a folk hero and figure of fascination long after his death some 129 years ago.  Even now, Billy provokes controversy wherever he goes, as Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico has discovered.  Gov. Richardson is considering issuing a pardon for Billy the Kid, but not because he thinks Billy is innocent, but because it was promised to him.

Billy the Kid wrote New Mexico governor Lew Wallace, saying that he would testify in front of a grand jury in exchange for a pardon for several murders.  Wallace agreed.  The pardon never happened, as Billy the Kid fled house arrest and was later gunned down by Lincoln County sheriff Pat Garrett.  The escape (and murder) don’t really matter in this case, argue those in favor of the pardon.

“Still, regardless of Billy’s crimes, the motives of Richardson or the hollowness of posthumous justice, it all comes back to Wallace’s promise.  A deal is a deal, and 129 years doesn’t change that.  Billy is owed a pardon,” says Mark Lee Gardner, author of To Hell on a Fast Horse: Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, and the Epic Chase to Justice in the Old West.  A promise is a promise, right?  Well, that’s up to Richardson.

Tags: Bill Richardson, New Mexico, Billy the Kid, William H. Bonney, Henry McCarty, Billy the Kid to be pardoned, governor’s pardon for Billy the Kid, posthumous pardon for Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, Lincoln County, Lew Wallace, Mark Lee Gardner

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