The feud between Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett, which started almost 130 years ago, may not be quite over. Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico, is now considering granting a posthumous pardon to Billy the Kid — and the Garrett clan is pissed.
The grandchildren of Pat Garrett have written letters to the governor objecting to the pardon. The kids say that a pardon for their gramp’s nemesis would be an “inexcusable defamation” of Garrett. Nobody wants their pop’s name smeared, even if he has been dead since 1908.
Garrett’s grandkids say that if he were alive today, Billy the Kid would not be celebrated or offered a pardon. He made his living as a thief and killed at least four law enforcement officers and a handful of other people before Garrett shot him down like a dog in an ambush on July 14, 1881.
The governor will meet with Garrett’s family before making a decision on the pardon.
