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Fri 30 Jul, 2010 05:02 pm
(July 30) -- There's talk around New Mexico that the governor is thinking of pardoning Billy the Kid, and descendants of Pat Garrett don't much cotton to the idea.
Sheriff Garrett tracked down and shot dead Billy the Kid, aka William Bonney and several other aliases, in 1881 after the notorious gunslinger had killed two deputies while busting out of jail in Lincoln County. A couple of years earlier, the territorial governor, Lew Wallace ( author of the novel Ben Hur), reportedly offered the Kid a pardon in connection with a murder charge he faced in return for his testimony against those involved in a bloody range war. But Wallace is said to have reneged on the promise.
Gov. Bill Richardson now is considering the possibility of pardoning the Kid. A spokeswoman for the governor told the El Paso Times that "right now we have nothing planned,'' but Garrett's family sent a letter to Richardson objecting that such a move would amount to a defamation of the lawman, according to The Associated Press.
Billy don't deserve no pardon. He was not the romantic character we see in lots of movies.
@edgarblythe,
edgarblythe wrote:
Billy don't deserve no pardon. He was not the romantic character we see in lots of movies.
sure he was, didn't you see the movie with Kris Kristopherson and Bob Dylan? Billy was an all-around straight shooter and a hellbent for leather wrangler. Rita Coolidge was a fair maiden, pure as drivin' snow. I sat through it twice.
I love those kinds of movies. But even Kris murdered getting out of jail. Don't forget Dylan's song, Billy
So hold onto your woman if you've got one
Remember once in El Paso you shot one
@edgarblythe,
edgarblythe wrote:
I love those kinds of movies. But even Kris murdered getting out of jail. Don't forget Dylan's song, Billy
So hold onto your woman if you've got one
Remember once in El Paso you shot one
well, hot-damn Edgar I believe you've lost your senses, that woman he shot once in El Paso, she weren't a white woman, just another mexican (probably here illegally) and every man has the constitutional right to shoot his way out of jail. He was pursuing his rights to life, liberty and happiness. New Mexico wasn't a state then, it was a wild and untamed territory. A man had to do what a man had to do.
I'm surprised Baca let him hang around.
Wiki
The Lincoln County War was a 19th century range war between two factions in America's western frontier. The "war" was notable for the large number of semi-mythical figures from 19th century America, including legendary outlaw Billy the Kid, county Sheriffs William J. Brady and Pat Garrett, cattle rancher John Chisum, lawyer and businessman Alexander McSween, and general store owner L.G. Murphy.
The conflict pitted two factions against each other, over the control of dry goods trade in the county. The older, established faction was led by Murphy and his business partner James Dolan who had a dry goods monopoly run through Murphy's general store. Young newcomers to the county, English-born John Tunstall and his business partner Alexander McSween, with backing from established cattleman John Chisum, opened a competing store in 1876. The two sides gathered lawmen, businessmen, and criminal gangs to their sides. The Murphy-Dolan faction were allied with the Lincoln County Sheriff, William J. Brady, and supported by the Jessie Evans Gang. The Tunstall-McSween faction organized their own posse of armed men, known as the Lincoln County Regulators, to defend their position, and had their own lawman, town constable Dick Brewer.
The "war" was marked by back-and-forth revenge killings, starting with the killing of Tunstall by members of the Jessie Evans Gang. In revenge for this and other killings, Sheriff Brady was killed by the Regulators. Further killings continued unabated for several months, climaxing in the Battle of Lincoln, a four day gunfight and siege which resulted in the death of McSween and the scattering of the Regulators. It would finally be brought to an end when Pat Garrett was named County Sheriff in 1880. Garrett would hunt down the remaining Regulators, including Billy the Kid, who was killed by Garrett in July, 1881.
I say, "Hang 'im! And Hang 'Im High!!"
Does it make a fart of difference? The governor is just trying to keep his name in the papers. Despicable!
Does this look like a killer to you?
@realjohnboy,
You must be a friend of 'ol Billy. Anyhow, it sounds like you know him real well
@roger,
roger wrote:
You must be a friend of 'ol Billy. Anyhow, it sounds like you know him real well
Nah. He just didn't know he was dead.
@Intrepid,
But that is the one part of the legend that is a sure bet.
billy and bob dylan, don't look like cop killers to me.
Watch out for Dylan. He carries a knife.
@edgarblythe,
yeah anyone going around with a name like "alias" can't be wearing a white hat.
I wonder about the mindset at the time -
Two warring factions, each made up of killers and killers' accomplices. Maybe Billy saw the deputies as illegal hire-es of the other faction, rather than legitimate officers? Don't have a clue. Wondering out loud.
@roger,
Yep, that is true.
Billy the Kid is dead.
But who killed him and when did he die.
There have been claims that Billy the Kid is NOT buried in that grave.
While I dont know and dont claim to know, there is this...
http://www.angelfire.com/mi2/billythekid/brushy.html
But either way, the legend of Billy the Kid is what seems to fascinate everyone, not the truth.
BTW, he does deserve the pardon.
He kept his end of the deal and tha governor reneged.
So he deserves a pardon for all of his crimes committed up to that point, as promised, but not for any crimes committed after that.
@mysteryman,
Can a state governor really pardon someone convicted under territorial government, though?
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