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Old December 31, 2010, 10:10 AM   #1
Hardcase
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No Pardon for Billy

The last time I brought this up, some folks would'a thought a polecat was loose in the bunkhouse! Nonetheless, here we go!

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has decided not to pardon Billy the Kid. Here are the details.

I'm keepin' the polecat in reserve, just in case.
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Old December 31, 2010, 11:20 AM   #2
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Good!
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Old December 31, 2010, 11:40 AM   #3
Marlin009
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Bill should have more important things to occupy his time.
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Old December 31, 2010, 11:48 AM   #4
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The kid was a murderer. Why would a pardon even be considered by rational people?

Richardson. Jeez.

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Old December 31, 2010, 12:04 PM   #5
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The kid was a murderer.
That's debatable.
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Old January 1, 2011, 10:29 AM   #6
madcratebuilder
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Quote:
The kid was a murderer.

That's debatable.
I think more like what side your on. Hard times and hard men. It is a documented fact that Billy killed in cold blood and was a thief. Did he just kill men that wanted to kill him and steal back his own property?
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Old January 1, 2011, 11:09 AM   #7
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Whether Billy the Kid is pardoned or not, I think it is safe to say that the dead don't spin in their grave.
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Old January 1, 2011, 11:39 AM   #8
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That's debatable

I read that he killed two deputies while escaping from jail. Is that accurate?
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Old January 1, 2011, 11:59 AM   #9
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I don't agree with the time issue to determine the decision(it keeps roaring to life)

I am in the minority(I have seen the polls)! If he was PROMISED a pardon in the eyes of the law then Legally there is merit to the kid receiving a pardon, and there is documentation to side with the kid. There are also many debatable instances of the kid, but yes the kid did shoot+kill two LEO's while escaping. That incident is part of the reason why his story lives on to this day. Billy was a victim of his times, and many LEO's in the Lincoln wars were corrupt. There is evidence that Wyatt Earp(on the other side of the law than the kid&in a different location) was a cold-blooded murderer using his badge to serve a personal vendetta after his brother was killed following the famed OK Corral battle.

Basically, Wyatt killed three individuals and had to leave the state after. Back then leaving the state was enough in certain instances to leave your past behind. In the present's eye, Wyatt is a good guy
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Old January 1, 2011, 12:11 PM   #10
Wag
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Any promise for a pardon to BtK was questionable, at best. Hardly able to confirm or even deny.

Hypothetically, however, if he was promised a pardon, it was for the original murders, not the two people he killed during his escape attempt. Because of those killings, his dead self doesn't deserve to be pardoned.

Agree with you on the Wyatt Earp assessment. The guy was a thug, nothing better than a mafioso or mobster. So were his brothers.

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Old January 1, 2011, 12:15 PM   #11
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I read that he killed two deputies while escaping from jail. Is that accurate?

Yes, he killed James W. Bell and Bob Olinger during an escape to keep from being hung. I wonder how many here put in the same circumstances would have just walked peacefully to the gallows? Billy killed four men on his own. Two in self defense and two escaping jail. He was involved in five shootings where five other men died but bullets were flying from both sides so he really cant be credited with any of those.
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Old January 1, 2011, 12:19 PM   #12
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It's a shame we can't talk to Billy's momma. I bet she could confirm that Billy was a good, caring, gentle boy who just got mixed up with the wrong crowd.
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Old January 1, 2011, 12:34 PM   #13
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Billy the Kid kills two deputies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE9pWTVYWc0&NR=1


As you can clearly see, he tried to give Bell a break, I wouldn't indict him for that one.
Now, Ollinger was murder, but the guy was a jerk.
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Old January 1, 2011, 01:02 PM   #14
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It's a shame we can't talk to Billy's momma. I bet she could confirm that Billy was a good, caring, gentle boy who just got mixed up with the wrong crowd.
His mother died a year before he got into trouble the first time, for stealing laundry.


Quote:
Billy the Kid kills two deputies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE9pWTVYWc0&NR=1


As you can clearly see, he tried to give Bell a break, I wouldn't indict him for that one.
Now, Ollinger was murder, but the guy was a jerk.

Yeah Ollinger was a jerk and taunted him relentlessly but don't believe everything that comes out of Hollyweird.
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Old January 1, 2011, 02:15 PM   #15
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It's a shame we can't talk to Billy's momma. I bet she could confirm that Billy was a good, caring, gentle boy who just got mixed up with the wrong crowd.
No, she would say, "My baby didn't do nuthin."
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Old January 1, 2011, 04:04 PM   #16
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Now, Ollinger was murder, but the guy was a jerk.
Being a jerk, in somebody's opinion, is justification for murder?
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Old January 1, 2011, 04:22 PM   #17
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Being a jerk, in somebody's opinion, is justification for murder?
Nobody said that but being hung for something you didn't do IMHO puts a different slant on things. I'm not trying to make Billy out into some great guy but he was railroaded.
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Old January 1, 2011, 07:12 PM   #18
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Bob Olinger was a murderer too. In fact, sheriff Pat Garret called him "my killer deputy". Both sides in that war were killers.
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Old January 1, 2011, 07:47 PM   #19
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In my book...

.... Billy the Kid was just a playful young fellow who probably suffered from ADHD. Who could blame him? He was probably off his medication.

Boys will be boys.







This is a joke fellas....No offense.
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Old January 1, 2011, 08:15 PM   #20
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Why Care?

I like Billy the Kid, however we don't know what happened back then, but IT DOES NOT MATTER! Posters who say he was a murderer are as wrong as those who think he a hero. He and all the rest of his period are dead. Bill Richardson needs to work on many other problems. Mainly imigration.
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Old January 1, 2011, 08:27 PM   #21
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Billy the Kid was just a playful young fellow
Young is right. He probably wasn't even 20 when Pat killed him. Even tho Pat said he was 21 nobody really knows for sure. Guesstimates on his date of birth range from 1859-1862.
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Old January 1, 2011, 09:26 PM   #22
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yeah and thats a stretch Hawg, I have always heard his mother delivered him during the war which would be '61 at the earliest if that is the case.
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