July 30, 2010 -- The legendary outlaw Billy the Kid may have stolen horses and cattle, escaped from jail and killed 21 men, according to legend. But nearly 130 years after his death, all of that is water under the bridge, right?
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson thinks so, and he's looking to pardon this outlaw of the Old West.
Who could possibly be opposed to a pardon of the famous gunslinger? The descendants of Sheriff Pat Garrett, the man who gunned down Billy the Kid, that's who. Garrett's descendants have claimed that the pardon would be an "inexcusable defamation" of the lawman's legacy, according to The Associated Press.
"Everybody wants to mythologize Billy the Kid," Susan Floyd Garrett, one of the sheriff's descendants, told the Daily Mail.
Shortly after slaying Billy the Kid, Sheriff Garrett published a book, "The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid," one of the earliest accounts that solidified the legend of the outlaw of the Old West.
Although it's still unclear how this 21st-century showdown over 19th-century history will turn out, neither side has so far suggested pistols at dawn.
