Billy the Kid May Get Pardon From Bill the Governor

(Dec. 17) -- Billy the Kid, notorious gunslinger and icon of the Wild West, may receive a pardon from New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

Richardson this week received a formal petition to pardon Billy the Kid, born Henry McCarty, who is believed to have struck a deal with Territorial Gov. Lew Wallace, Reuters reported.

Under the terms of the agreement, Wallace would drop all pending charges against McCarty, including those related to the killing of Sheriff William Brady in 1878. In return, McCarty would testify in a murder trial.

McCarty testified but never received a pardon. He was eventually killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in July 1881. McCarty was in his early 20s when he died.

"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 Gov. Lew Wallace," Richardson said in a statement Thursday, according to Reuters.

"I will diligently review this new petition and all the facts available," Richardson said.

McCarty, who was also known as Henry Antrim and William Bonney, won fame and notoriety in the Southwest by committing a string of violent crimes while still a teenager. He became embroiled in the Lincoln County, N.M., war of the late 1870s, a violent struggle between groups of cattle ranchers and merchants, according to notablebiographies.com.

After his death, Billy the Kid became something of a Western folk hero, due in part to a book written by Garrett.

Richardson set up a website on the topic of McCarty's pardon, inviting comment from the "general public, as well as history buffs, experts in the field and family members of the affected parties."

Trial attorney and history buff Randi McGinn sent a formal petition to the governor's office, recommending that McCarty be pardoned for crimes including Brady's death. "This injustice should be corrected," the petition states. "A promise is a promise."

Not everyone is in favor of pardoning the outlaw. Garrett's descendants say that would mean the sheriff committed a murder when he killed McCarty.

The governor is considering "accusing our grandfather, in national and international media, of hideous crimes," wrote Jarvis Patrick Garrett of Albuquerque and Susan Floyd Garrett of Santa Fe, according to Agence-France Presse. "We consider that an abomination as well as an inexcusable defamation of a great man."