I remember sitting on my grandfather’s lap. Sure, it was a long time ago – but I have a clear recollection of it. Maybe J.P. Garrett of Albequerque has the same kind of memories, leaning over and looking at the deep lines creasing his grandfather’s face. His grandpa was Pat Garrett, the man who shot Billy the Kid.
William Bonney: AKA Billy the Kid
That was back in 1881, when the Wild West was being tamed. A.G. Bell had just patented a thing he called a telephone five years earlier. Today, grandson Garrett sent out an email hailing a decision to forego a pardon for Billy the Kid.
William Bonney – the Kid – would probably be surprised that his case is still being considered, nearly 130 years after the fact, but New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today declined to issue a pardon for the nineteenth century gunman.
Descendants of Billy the Kid had asked that their ancestor be granted a formal pardon, based on a claim that territorial governor Lew Wallace had offered just that in exchange for testimony in another case. The controversy dates back that far. Wallace told a newspaper at the time, “I can’t see how a fellow like him should expect any clemency from me.”
Sometimes the passage of time puts a luster on the past. William Bonney was a desperate young man, his victims numbering between nine and twenty-one, depending on who is telling the tale. He’s been glamorized in song and films, but for descendants of his victims, William Bonney was just another gangster.
For now, that is the last word on the unpardoned Billy the Kid.