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Fri 31 Dec, 2010 11:33 am
SANTA FE, N.M. – Billy the Kid, the Old West outlaw who killed at least three lawmen and tried to cut a deal from jail with territorial authorities, won't be pardoned, Gov. Bill Richardson said Friday.
The prospect of a pardon for the notorious frontier figure nearly 130 years after his death drew international attention to New Mexico, centering on whether Billy the Kid had been promised a pardon from New Mexico's territorial governor in return for testimony in killings he had witnessed.
But the facts of the case didn't support a pardon, Richardson said Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America." He had been formally petitioned to grant one.
The proposed pardon covered the 1878 killing of Lincoln County Sheriff William Brady. Billy the Kid was shot to death by Sheriff Pat Garrett in 1881, a few months after escaping from jail where he was awaiting hanging in Brady's death.
He killed two deputies while escaping. The pardon petition did not cover those deaths, but Richardson said he had to consider them in his decision.
Garrett's grandson, J.P. Garrett of Albuquerque, sent an e-mail to The Associated Press: "Yea!!! No pardon! Looks like it will be a great new year!!!!"
Wallace's great-grandson, William Wallace of Westport, Conn., said Richardson "followed the correct, rational track in forgoing a pardon for a convicted murderer."
@dyslexia,
I am happy he has not gained a pardon. Some may argue, "All he did was shoot the deputies down." But, he just crossed too many lines to be set free. Good on Bill.
@dyslexia,
What a relief! I've been worried about this for 150 years. I'm gonna sleep good tonight!
I, too, applaud the Governor's decision. One of the more unfortunate of our national traits is making heroes of scoundrels.
@Setanta,
Now we can sleep unafraid. That horntoad scalawag is safe behind bars.
@farmerman,
Gov. Bill is on the way out. We can all sleep safely once he's gone. Hadn't heard about him being behind bars, but I would probably need an out of state news source for that.
Billy was an outlaw
This we all know
He was fast on the draw
The others were too slow
His friend was Pat Garrett
Somehow it seems
But as a new sherriff
Pat served as the law deems
He shot down young Billy
Didn't let him draw
Garrett chased down Billy
Shot him soon as he saw
The legend of Billy
Will be forever told
But legends are silly
When you're dead and you're cold
How cool would Billy be if he wasn't an outlaw?
Some people fart around on A2k and others organize petitions to pardon Billy the Kid.
its a racist decision i say!!
@edgarblythe,
Interesting.
Proof that History is written by the victors.
Truth be known we'd be lucky if even 10% of all the
history we've learned is actually true.
Of Irish stock, no doubt.
@eurocelticyankee,
I have said just that myself many times.
shot down for the idea too
but fact is
if YOU die in a fight, no one knows everything about YOUR side to tell it.
And those that do, just like the rumor game where you start a sentence at one side of a line and listen to its changes at the other ends, people alter their views and their answers in conversation.
So.. again
those that die can not contribute fully.
History, stories and even writings are only ( in most cases) PART of the full story.
@shewolfnm,
So true, there are many examples of it, even in our own lifetime.
So if the truth can be manipulated and shaped to suit in the space
of a few years, what hope have we got over a timespan of centuries.
Although I suppose you do see some truths come out, say after
people have passed away or interest in an issue has waned.
I read an article somewhere that said that 50+% of people polled favored the pardon. I thought the result would be more like what we got here with no one favoring the pardon. I wonder if someone cooked the books on that poll.
@engineer,
Keep in mind the number of marriage proposals received in prison by other serial killers.
Bonney's stepfather was an Antrim. My maternal ancestors were Antrim's, and they vociferously denied that he was one of them, pointing out that his "father" Mr. Antrim was in fact a stepfather. That suggests to me, that at that time, and for long afterward, Billy Bonney was not generally viewed in a favorable light by the public.
(Please note that all the Antrim's living today are descended from one man, John Antrim, who came to America in 1676. His brother James remained in Ulster, and James' last lineal descendant died in 1898. Anyone else with the name Antrim who is not descended from John Antrim assumed the name at some time after 1676. There is actually an Antrim Book which was assembled in 1899 after the death of the last Irish Antrim, when a huge estate was at stake.)
@Setanta,
This suggests to me that
Set might be able to chase my family.
But rest, I'm ok. I like my level of knowledge or lore.
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