In 2003, Richardson, a history buff, first said that he would consider pardoning the famous outlaw. He finally made up his mind today.
"It was a very close call. I’ve been working on this for eight years. The romanticism appealed to me to issue a pardon, but the facts and the evidence did not support it and I’ve got to be responsible especially when a governor is issuing pardons," Richardson said.
Richardson said that Billy the Kid’s decision to continue to kill after the pardon wasn’t granted to him impacted his decision.
"What I think maybe tipped the scales with me is that Billy went ahead after not getting this pardon and killed two deputies, two law enforcement individuals, two innocents," Richardson said.
Whew, that was a close call, I’d hate to see Richardson look weak on crime. Does anybody else think these pardons of dead celebrities, etc. are incredibly stupid? What’s worse is that it took Governor Richardson seven years to decide this. New Mexico you should be thankful you have a new governor coming in. I’m sure Governor-Elect Susanna Martinez will be a little more decisive – hopefully by not even entertaining asinine propositions like this.
HT: Memeorandum