December 01, 2003
Billy the Kid Gets a Lawyer
(Category:
News & Notes
)
122 years after shootout, attorney to gather information for a pardon
Wasn't there something about "speedy" on the books somewhere?
THE GOVERNOR’S office said Robins’ primary task will be to gather and assess evidence during a renewed investigation into the circumstances of Billy the Kid’s violent life and death, to determine whether the Kid (a.k.a. William H. Bonney, Henry McCarty or Kid Antrim) merits a pardon.
A pardon? The guy's been dead for 122 years. What's the point?
Even though all sides in the Billy the Kid brouhaha say they’re using pro bono services rather than public funds, critics have wondered why public officials are spending such time and attention on a 122-year-old case.
Hey, I just said that!
Looking beyond the question of frontier justice, those officials usually point out that the Old West legends — and the tourists attracted by such legends — are big business for New Mexico. And they say that makes looking for the truth worth the trouble.
Ah! Tourism dollars. That explains it. In that case, look for Billy to get his pardon as it will change him from a romanticized outlaw into a wrongfully slain romantic hero and that's worth more money.
(Hat tip to Lovely Wife)
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Electric Venom linked in The Letter Of The Day Is P on December 4, 2003 08:56 PM
Actually, as long as gobs of tax money don't get eaten up on this, I'm all for it. Billy Bonney or William Antrim as some say his name was became an outlaw during the Lincoln County War and many of his alleged killings either never happened or were assigned to him erroniously.
I grew up with some kids who came from a New Mexico family, the parents had family involved in that fracas. Seems like there is a good possibility of corrupt territorial government officials and Army Officers soming down on one side. There was also the little detail of Governor Wallace (who later wrote Ben Hur)breaking his pledge to pardon Billy.
Billy doesn't care about a pardon, it would be nice to set history straight, if the oral history I got as a child was right, it does need to be set straight.