# No pardon for Billy the Kid. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 31, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pardon-for-billy-the-kid/565947 "2010-12-31T15:25:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pardon-for-billy-the-kid/565947/21 "2011-01-01T08:05:12Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It had to do with a deal he supposedly made with the Governor of Mexico to offer testimony in another murder case in exchange for a pardon. The Governor allegedly welched on the deal after the testimony. So…does this mean Roman Polanski will still be seeking a pardon in 2215? ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pardon-for-billy-the-kid/565947/22 "2011-01-01T09:16:03Z")
But did he have a fair trial by his peers — other outlaws ? If not, the state retrospectively owes him $2.5 billon. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pardon-for-billy-the-kid/565947/23 "2011-01-01T14:23:09Z")
He should contact Patricia Hearst and get a few ideas. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pardon-for-billy-the-kid/565947/24 "2011-01-01T23:01:59Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It had to do with a deal he supposedly made with the Governor of Mexico to offer testimony in another murder case in exchange for a pardon. The Governor allegedly welched on the deal after the testimony. The issue was brought up now not because anyone though Billy the Kid was actually innocent or a great guy, but out of an argument that New Mexico had a legal obligation to honor its deal (even if it was a deal with the Devil). Bill Richardson decided that there wasn’t clear enough evidence that such a deal had existed, but implied that if dispositive evidence of a deal had existed, he would have felt the state of New Mexico. was still obligated to honor it. > > This was not an effort to declare Billy the Kid to be factually innocent, but an effort that the state should have paid off on a deal. I’m a thankin’ ye! So, it wasn’t a demon-possessed idiot after all. Best wishes, hh ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pardon-for-billy-the-kid/565947/25 "2011-01-02T00:51:16Z")
But since his crimes took place before the Son of Sam law was in place, presumably he can write an autobiography just as Frank Lucas ([American Gangster](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0765429/combined)) did. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pardon-for-billy-the-kid/565947/26 "2011-01-02T01:40:03Z")
♪ From the town of Chimayo, New Mexicano, Came a governor with a Publicity Stunt on his hands. Milking the media for a dime, on Billy’s daring life of crime, East & West of the Rio Grande… ♪ ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pardon-for-billy-the-kid/565947/27 "2011-01-02T05:58:02Z")
Me and Billy the Kid, we never got along. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pardon-for-billy-the-kid/565947/28 "2011-01-02T15:25:46Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > But did he have a fair trial by his peers — other outlaws ? Or, at the very least, other kids. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pardon-for-billy-the-kid/565947/29 "2011-01-02T17:06:04Z")
Maybe even other Billys. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pardon-for-billy-the-kid/565947/30 "2011-01-02T17:43:46Z")
since when do goats sit on juries in the US? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pardon-for-billy-the-kid/565947/31 "2011-01-02T17:52:12Z")
Well, **Uncle Goat** posts here, so why not? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pardon-for-billy-the-kid/565947/32 "2011-01-02T18:11:56Z")
**Hal Briston** could sit as an alternate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pardon-for-billy-the-kid/565947.md?page=1)