Billy the Kid May Get a Pardon
It’s way too late for notorious outlaw Billy the Kid to care if he gets a pardon. But New Mexico governor Bill Richardson is considering it anyway.
Believe it or not, there are living people who care deeply about the issue of Billy the Kid possibly getting a pardon. The descendants of Pat Garrett, for example.
Garrett, all you Western buffs will remember, was the lawman and former friend of Billy’s who tracked Billy down and finally ended his outlaw career by shooting him.
So proud is the Garrett family of their ancestor’s reputation as the man who did in Billy the Kid that they’ve released a statement condemning the governor’s potential action.
“If Billy the Kid was living amongst us now, would you issue a pardon for someone who made his living as a thief and, more egregiously, who killed four law enforcement officers and numerous others?” the Garrett family said.
They make a good argument. Then again, there is a whole other camp that claims Billy wasn’t the horrible guy he was portrayed to be, and furthermore, was never killed by Pat Garrett.
These nuts say Billy not only survived the Old West, but lived all the way up till 1950 before finally expiring of a heart attack.
The Garrett family of course debunks this story, and says that if Richardson does go through with his pardon, he will only be helping to perpetuate what they characterize as a hoax.
I’m with the Garrett family in this. I’ve seen lots of movies, and in all of them, Billy the Kid is a bad guy. In some of them he’s a misunderstood bad guy, perhaps even an antihero, but that doesn’t mean his name should be scrubbed clean.
At some point you have to take a stand against all these long-dead outlaws who the liberals want to rehabilitate and turn into pop culture heroes. Shame on Bill Richardson for going along with this elitist claptrap.
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