NM governor to consider Billy the Kid pardon

[December 17, 2010]  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson says he's received a formal petition to pardon legendary gunslinger Billy the Kid, and will make a decision on it before he leaves office at the end of the year.

Richardson has set up a website and e-mail address where the public can weigh in on the issue.

Some believe then-Territorial Gov. Lew Wallace promised the Kid a pardon in return for his testimony in a murder trial.

Trial Attorney Randi McGinn offered to review the history and prior petitions to see if there was a basis for the matter.

She submitted a formal petition for a pardon this week, saying Wallace had promised to pardon Billy the Kid, also known as Henry McCarty and William Bonney.

She says Kid offered to testify in the trial of three men, if Wallace would annul the pending charges against him, which included a murder charge in the death of a sheriff.

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Online:

http://www.governor.state.nm.us/btk.php

[Associated Press; By SUE MAJOR HOLMES]

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