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Billy the Kid may get pardon at last Read more: http://newsok.com/billy-the-kid

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Keith Ranville
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« on: December 30, 2010, 01:17:43 pm »



Billy the Kid told then-Gov. Lew Wallace he would testify against the murderers if Wallace agreed to protect him and annul a previous indictment against him.

SANTA FE — Billy the Kid is finally getting a robust legal defense — thanks in large part to Gov. Bill Richardson.

The legendary New Mexico outlaw had his case taken up in a pardon petition submitted this week to Richardson by prominent Albuquerque trial lawyer Randi McGinn.

This ferrotype picture provided by the Lincoln County, N.M., Heritage Trust Archive, is believed to depict Billy the Kid, circa 1880. AP Photo

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Richardson, a two-term Democrat who’s leaving office at year’s end and currently is trying to cool off what many see as trigger-happy hotheads in North Korea, announced in a news release Thursday that he will decide whether to issue the pardon for the Kid by Dec. 31.

Meanwhile, Richardson said he will accept written comments from the public for the next 10 days before making up his mind.

A Richardson spokeswoman confirmed Thursday that the Governor’s Office designated McGinn, whose husband happens to be New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Daniels, to review the Billy the Kid case.

McGinn, who isn’t being paid, said a pardon isn’t a foregone conclusion. “There’s no deal or any fix in,” she said in a telephone interview.

“(Richardson) said to me, ‘You can submit this, but I’m not promising anything.’ ”

Richardson has kept the possibility of a pardon alive despite fierce opposition to the idea from descendants of Pat Garrett, the Lincoln County sheriff who shot and killed the outlaw near Fort Sumner in 1881.

With this week’s submittal of the pardon petition, it appears a decision on whether to pardon Billy the Kid will likely be one of Richardson’s final acts as New Mexico’s governor.

“As someone who is fascinated with New Mexico’s rich history, I’ve always been intrigued by the story of Billy the Kid and, in particular, the alleged promise of a pardon he was given by Territorial Governor Lew Wallace,” Richardson said in a statement.

“I will diligently review this new petition and all the facts available regarding an agreement between Billy the Kid and Governor Wallace before making any decision.”

McGinn, who said she started reviewing the case six months ago and didn’t charge for her services, said her pardon petition hinges on the alleged promise made by Wallace to the Kid.

“The outlaw kept his promise, and the government didn’t,” McGinn said. “This is an old injustice, but it still resounds today.”

In letters written by Billy the Kid to Wallace, the Kid told the territorial governor he was a witness to a murder in 1879 that had shattered a truce agreement in the Lincoln County War.

Billy the Kid told Wallace he would testify against the murderers if Wallace agreed to protect him and annul a previous indictment against him.

Wallace agreed to the deal, but no pardon was ever issued, the petition claims.

Historical records show that after receiving a questionable legal defense and being sentenced to death, Billy the Kid eventually broke out of jail — killing two sheriff’s deputies in the process — and was subsequently tracked down and shot to death by Garrett.

The body of Billy the Kid, also known as William H. Bonney, is buried in a dusty cemetery outside of Fort Sumner.

The pardon petition was formally submitted Tuesday to Richardson’s office.

Richardson’s office said the pardon petition doesn’t dispute Billy the Kid’s killing of the two Lincoln County sheriff’s deputies during his escape from jail or Garrett’s actions.

Richardson spokeswoman Alarie Ray-Garcia also said there are no plans to hold a new trial for Billy the Kid.

Richardson is on a trip to North Korea and will return Monday.

Gov.-elect Susana Martinez, a Republican, takes office Jan. 1.


Read more: http://newsok.com/billy-the-kid-may-get-pardon-at-last/article/3524941#ixzz19clIiIyA
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Keith Ranville
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« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2011, 05:04:37 am »



Unforgiving: Legendary gun slinger Billy the Kid denied a pardon 130 years after death

Billy the Kid, one of the New Mexico's most famous Old West Outlaw's, will not be given a posthumous pardon, it was revealed today.

He killed at least three lawmen and tried to cut a deal from jail with territorial authorities nearly 130 years ago.



But a campaign led by Albuquerque attorney Randi McGinn to have the outlaw has failed after Governor Bill Richardson decided it was not warranted.

It had been claimed that Henry McCarty - known as Billy the Kid - was shot dead by Sheriff Pat Garrett in 1881 despite being promised clemency for testifying in a murder case.

He was killed a few months after escaping from jail.

Territorial Governor Lew Wallace allegedly offered the pardon in return for evidence.

But Governor Bill Richardson said on ABC's Good Morning America today that the notorious outlaw would not be forgiven.

According to legend, the outlaw killed 21 people, one for each year of his life. But the New Mexico Tourism Department puts the total closer to nine.

Richardson, a former U.N. ambassador and Democratic presidential candidate, waited until the last minute to announce his decision. His term ends at midnight tonight.

Staff members have said there were no written documents 'pertaining in any way' to a pardon in the papers of the territorial governor, Lew Wallace, who served in office from 1878 to 1881.
Delay: Outgoing governor Bill Richardson waited until his final day in office to say he was not giving the outlaw a pardon

Unforgiven: Outgoing governor Bill Richardson waited until his final day in office to say he was not giving the outlaw a pardon

Governor Richardson's office set up a website and e-mail address to take comments on a possible posthumous pardon for the outlaw. Some 430 argued for forgiveness and 379 opposed it.

The site was set-up after Albuquerque attorney Randi McGinn submitted a formal petition for a pardon.

McGinn argued that Lew Wallace had promised to pardon the Kid for testifying about the 1878 killing of Lincoln County Sheriff William Brady.

She said the outlaw kept his end of the bargain, but the territorial governor did not.

Governor Richardson said today he had decided against forgiving Billy 'because of a lack of conclusiveness and the historical ambiguity as to why Governor Wallace reneged on his promise.'

'We should not neglect the historical record and the history of the American West,' Richardson said.

The grandson of Sheriff Pat Garrett, who shot the outlaw, and the great-grandson of Lew Wallace reacted with outrage when it was suggested Billy should have been given a pardon.

The Kid was a ranch hand and gunslinger in the bloody Lincoln County War, a feud between factions vying to dominate the dry goods business and cattle trading in southern New Mexico.

Governor Richardson has said the Kid is part of New Mexico history and he's been interested in the case for years. He's also pointed to the 'good publicity' the state received over the pardon.

William Wallace, great-grandson of Lew Wallace, said his ancestor never promised a pardon and that forgiving the Kid 'would declare Lew Wallace to have been a dishonorable liar.'

Wallace, apparently told Kid: 'I have authority to exempt you from prosecution if you will testify to what you say you know.'





THE KID: HOW HE WENT FROM OUTLAW  TO FOLK HERO
Legendary: The Kid was a ranch hand and gunslinger in the bloody Lincoln County War

Legendary: The Kid was a ranch hand and gunslinger in the bloody Lincoln County War

Billy the Kid has been described as a vicious and ruthless killer - an outlaw who died at the age of 21 having raised havoc in the New Mexico Territory.

It was said he took the lives of 21 men, one for each year of his life, the first when he was just 12.

The more likely figure was nine, but this and many more accusations of callous acts are merely examples used to create the myth of Billy the Kid.

In truth the Kid, born Henry McCarty but later known as outlaw William Bonney, was not the cold-blooded killer he has been portrayed as but a young man who lived in a violent world where knowing how to use a gun was the difference between life and death.

He was a master of his craft and enjoyed showing off his gun-twirling abilities to his friends, taking a revolver in each hand and spinning them in opposite directions. But in his quieter moments he would meticulously clean his firearms.

He was also good-natured and generous, but his reckless 'they’ll-never-catch-me' attitude would eventually lead to his his downfall.

Relatively unknown during his own lifetime, he was catapulted into legend the year after his death in 1881 when his killer, Sheriff Pat Garrett, published a sensationalised biography  The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid.

After this, Billy the Kid grew into a symbolic figure of the American Old West.

On the run from his enemies and the law, the Kid had made a living by stealing horses and cattle, until his arrest in December of 1880. Five months later, after being sentence to death for the killing of Sheriff Brady during the Lincoln County gang war, the Kid broke out of jail by killing his two guards.

But he decided not the leave the territory after his escape when he had more than enough time to do so, allowing Garrett to catch up with him at the home of Pete Maxwell in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, on  July 14, 1881.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1343043/No-forgiveness-Legendary-gun-slinger-Billy-Kid-denied-pardon-130-years-death.html#ixzz19y8O8ayu
« Last Edit: January 03, 2011, 05:05:05 am by Keith » Report Spam   Logged
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