The issue drew international attention from the fans of Western fact, and mostly, from the fans of Western fiction. The issue, was whether or not Billy the Kid should be given a pardon, because he was allegedly promised a pardon by the New Mexico territorial governor, in return for testimony, which he gave about killings he had witnessed. The pro-pardon crowd wanted to put aside the fact that the "kid,' who was killed a few months after breaking out of jail, was in jail, convicted of killing a county sheriff. He killed two deputies while escaping. The pardon petition did not include those two killings.
My take on this? Good for Bill Richardson.
Billy the kid was a real person who has become a myth, The myth makes him out to have been not all that bad, and a range of Hollywood stars have played him -- Dennis Hopper, Paul Newman; Marlon Brando, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Mack Brown, Robert Taylor, Buster Crabbe, Joel McCrea; Audie Murphy, Nick Adams. And even Roy Rogers! Some people are so quick to believe the popular bio and not the real one.
The real Bill the kid, William Bonney , was a killer. One mustn't never let the myth over take the man, though it almost, always does. See the video.