Althouse: On his last day in office, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson reveals that he will not pardon Billy the Kid.

December 31, 2010

On his last day in office, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson reveals that he will not pardon Billy the Kid.

The NYT reports a "sigh of relief."

27 comments:

Unknown said...: It shouldn't have been an issue. Billy shot those men cold, no two ways about it and Pat Garrett was the first to say so.

Surprising the Gray Lady is "relieved". They're usually squishy soft on baby-faced psychotics.; 12/31/10, 11:42 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Glad to hear the showboat did not leave the pier.; 12/31/10, 11:43 AM
Hagar said...: The proposed pardon was for the killing of Sheriff Brady and his deputy, where Billy was present and one of the shooters, but no one knows who fired the fatal shots.
Pat Garrett had nothing to do with this, and the pardon should not have been of any concern to his descendants.
The pardon would have been a slam - and a deserved one - for Lew Wallace's record, but then why do that 130 years later?; 12/31/10, 11:53 AM
ricpic said...: Word has it Richardson is pondering an anglo tax within the borders of New Aztlan.; 12/31/10, 11:55 AM
LL said...: Obama can still pardon Billy -- so those fans of the psychotic murderer can still burn candles -- hope and change.; 12/31/10, 11:55 AM
The Dude said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/31/10, 11:58 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Stuff like this draws attentiong to living murderers like Manson, Mumia, and other jewels of society.; 12/31/10, 12:13 PM
ddh said...: No, stuff like this draws attention to living politicians like Richardson and other jewels of society.; 12/31/10, 1:22 PM
Phil 314 said...: William Antrum (aka William Bonney; aka "Billy the kid") was not available for comment.; 12/31/10, 1:40 PM
SteveR said...: I reckon so; 12/31/10, 1:58 PM
Unknown said...: Hagar said...

The proposed pardon was for the killing of Sheriff Brady and his deputy, where Billy was present and one of the shooters, but no one knows who fired the fatal shots.
Pat Garrett had nothing to do with this, and the pardon should not have been of any concern to his descendants.

Agree Pat wasn't there, but he supposedly knew the Kid and had no doubts as to his homicidal tendencies.; 12/31/10, 2:36 PM
David said...: He is asking the North Koreans to issue the pardon instead.; 12/31/10, 2:50 PM
Big Mike said...: Billy shot down two deputies when escaping from jail while under sentence of death for the murder of Sheriff Brady. In particular, after murdering deputy James Bell and escaping from the jail, "The Kid" laid a cold-blooded ambush for Bob Ollinger and shot him down.

No, I don't think a pardon is called for.; 12/31/10, 3:08 PM
Hagar said...: Billy and Garrett were friends, and you might as well talk of Garrett's "homicidal tendencies."

And the murders of Bell and Olinger are irrelevant to the pardon, since Billy was not ever tried for those.; 12/31/10, 3:27 PM
Beldar said...: An appropriate last act for Richardson, who will, I'm certain, quickly find a home in the Obama Administration among his fellow Evil Clowns.; 12/31/10, 4:48 PM
Anonymous said...: Is he jealous of Charlie Crist or something?; 12/31/10, 4:51 PM
d-day said...: Why is this article bylined from Phoenix? Does the NYT fail to realize that Arizona and New Mexico are different states? States . . . hell, we're different FEDERAL CIRCUITS.

Eat me, NYT.; 12/31/10, 5:19 PM
Indigo Red said...: The evidence for a pardon promise is murky and it is silly to reinterpret history at this late stage.

However, one thing is clear: the photo used here is reversed. The Kid was not left-handed as has been thought for decades because of this photo. The tintype produced a reverse image and was reproduced that way by innumerable newspapers. The clearest evidence the photo is backwards is the right-loading breech port on the Winchester. The gun maker never made a left-loading version.; 12/31/10, 6:01 PM
cathy said...: But the deputies he shot belonged to the other faction. It wasn't like real deputies. It was the old west in the way you imagine it. Billy's group, the regulators, were hired to protect a rancher and the other faction killed him.; 12/31/10, 8:56 PM
TBMD said...: So far, the only conclusion to be drawn is that Richardson still has political aspirations. Pardoning serial killers doesn't chime with his goals.

Sorry Billy; Bill was for ya before he was agin' ya. Nuttin personal; just bizness.; 12/31/10, 10:40 PM
yes said...: Cue Joe Ely:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-_aqE4EPxU; 1/1/11, 12:01 AM
Clyde said...: And somewhere in California, Charlie Manson cries.; 1/1/11, 12:06 AM
William said...: He is a murderer and an outlaw. There is no ambiguity about that, but there is ambiguity about how we view his crimes. A pardon would dismiss that ambiguity and, paradoxically, destroy Billy's reputation.; 1/1/11, 9:10 AM
Ofc. Krupke said...: where Billy was present and one of the shooters, but no one knows who fired the fatal shots.

"Present and one of the shooters" isn't exactly a stirring argument for clemency. Even if we could be reasonably certain that Billy is no longer a threat to the public. :)

WV: vashom. Billy has blood on his hands, 'cause he didn't vashom.; 1/1/11, 4:58 PM
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