Outgoing New Mexico Governor Refuses to Pardon Billy the Kid
Bill the Kid lives on in history as a convicted cop murderer in New Mexico.
The state’s outgoing governor, Bill Richardson, refused to pardon the outlaw for killing a sheriff, one of at least nine murders the Kid committed, the Associated Press reports. “I could not rewrite history,” Richardson told the wire service.
Richardson had been asked to issue the pardon based on evidence that Billy the Kid had been offered amnesty in 1879 for his testimony in a murder case. It was never granted, and Billy the Kid went on to escape from jail and kill two deputies in his getaway.
Richardson said he concluded the deal had been offered, but it was unclear why it was withdrawn. Richardson said he decided against the pardon because of the ambiguity and the deputies’ murders.
