Okay, I have to get involved in this one. I was born across the street from where Pat Garrett is buried in Las Cruces, NM, and I wrote a documentary about the man who killed him, "Deacon" Jim Miller.
On top of this old cowboys who lived around the New Mexico and Texas area were convinced that "Brushy Bill" was Billy the Kid. Old cowboys I actually met named Hosea Goodwin, Dunk Freeman, Carl Graham, and Tom Farrell, all claimed Roberts was the Kid.
Was he? I honestly do not know, but they claimed Garrett, a friend of Billy's (even this is now disputed), killed a Mexican cowboy and this was presented as Billy. The body was buried the next day making a 100% sure identification impossible. Billy allegedly fled to Mexico.
Did he? Again, I honestly do not know.
If you want my honest opinion, Roberts convinced a lot of people, but he wasn't Billy. I do believe Billy died at the hands of Pat Garrett and is buried where his body is reported to be. Why? I don't know except that any other story is too fantastic. I could easily be wrong.
This much I do know. In those days the lines between good guys and bad guys was always blurred. Different factions hired gunmen to be their law enforcement officials. Just like in the movie "Tombstone" where the Earp's are at odds with the City Marshall the law enforcement factions all over the west were exactly like that. "Lawmen" were often former outlaws, hired because of their fearlessness and/or skill with guns.
Often, these men killed and it was accepted. It was different times. Our morals today do not equate to those times. Heck, in those days there was even a defense against murder known as "he needed killing."
Accounts of almost every killing will be disputed. Why? Because people see things the way they want to see them. Take for instance Billy's killing of a man named Joe Grant. What really happened? No one knows. Because eye witnesses tell stories ranging from Billy was walking out of the saloon and heard a click behind him and killed Grant in self defense, to they were gambling, Grant was drunk, and Billy killed him in cold blood.
All of these accounts by eye witnesses to the event and nowhere near equal reports. That was common.
I am a History buff and I have been to museums all over New Mexico and I have always been amazed. Every single one of them claims to have a gun owned by Billy the Kid. Apparently Billy had a lot of guns and he left them everywhere.
Even reports of Billy's escape are different. Did he slip out of his handcuffs and use one of the deputy's gun to kill both his guards? Or did someone plant a gun for him in an outhouse? Again, the stories are so convoluted that no one knows the real truth.
How many men did Billy kill? 21? 9? 3 or 4? It depends on who you read. This much is true, Billy wasn't really romanticized until Pat Garrett's memoirs were printed. Yes, he was a hero to some, and an outlaw to others prior to this publication, but it was Garrett's pen that really gave Billy either fame or infamy. Even the descriptions of Garrett's killing of Billy are disputed. Did Garrett lie in wait for him hiding behind a woman's bed? Or did the Kid unexpectedly come in and Garrett recognized his voice? We do not know.
As to his pardon. There is little doubt he was offered clemency and testified. What happened after that is as debatable as the rest of the stories because witness accounts are slanted to an already built in opinion. I do think Richardson will pardon Billy, but it will be to make a splash as he leaves office more than any other reason. Billy provides tourism money to New Mexico.
