( CNN ) -- Gov . Bill Richardson of New Mexico will not pardon legendary Wild West outlaw Billy the Kid in the death of a law enforcement officer more than a century ago , he said Friday . Richardson made the announcement on ABC 's `` Good Morning America '' the same day he leaves office . The issue facing Richardson was whether one of his predecessors , Gov . Lew Wallace , promised about 130 years ago to pardon Billy the Kid -- known more formally as William H. Bonney -- for killing Sheriff William Brady of Lincoln County , New Mexico . Wallace has long been said to have promised a pardon if Bonney testified before a grand jury that was investigating another killing . Wallace did not follow through on that promise , many say , and the reasons are debated . Richardson said he believes that Wallace did promise to pardon Bonney . Yet there is `` historical ambiguity '' about why Wallace did not follow through , Richardson said , and he did not want to second-guess the former governor 's decision . `` It was a very close call , '' Richardson said . `` The romanticism appealed to me to issue a pardon , but the facts and the evidence did not support it . '' The governor acknowledged a positive side effect of his consideration of a pardon . `` It 's good for tourism , '' he said . `` It 's gotten great publicity for the state . '' Billy the Kid was born Henry McCarty but was also known as Bonney and Henry Antrim . He died at the hands of Sheriff Pat Garrett 129 years ago . He was 21 at the time of his death . Wallace 's great-grandson , William Wallace of Westport , Connecticut , has said there is no proof of an offered pardon . `` Where is the hard , concrete evidence ? '' he asked CNN Friday , adding discussion of exactly what happened is full of `` gray areas . '' While crediting Richardson for `` the correct rational track '' in his decision , Wallace said `` why the governor commenced this nonsense four months ago remains a mystery . '' A pardon would have defamed his ancestor , Wallace said . `` ( Lew Wallace ) was a heroic figure in the history of the United States in the 19th century . '' Some members of the Garrett family opposed a pardon . Besides arguing that Billy the Kid was an incorrigible killer , they wanted to make sure the sheriff was absolved of any wrongdoing related to the killing . Jarvis Patrick Garrett , the grandson of the sheriff , cheered the governor 's decision Friday . `` Yay ! No pardon ! Looks like it will be a great New Year ! '' he said . Richardson had said he would not do anything that cast a cloud on Garrett . Some residents , including Governor-elect Susana Martinez , said there are more pressing issues facing the state . Richardson , a Billy the Kid buff , examined a promise by Wallace , the territorial governor , about 130 years ago to issue the outlaw a pardon . `` A promise is a promise and should be enforced , '' said Albuquerque defense attorney Randi McGinn , who filed the petition for the pardon and volunteered to handle the case for free . Following Richardson 's decision , McGinn said in an e-mail , `` We won the battle ( acknowledgement of Lew Wallace 's broken promise ) , but lost the war ( the pardon ) . The historic debate will continue and perhaps a future New Mexico governor will grant justice for the Kid . '' Garrett killed Billy the Kid on July 14 , 1881 , in Fort Sumner , weeks after the outlaw escaped from a jail . The sheriff , legend has it , was hiding in the dark and shot the Kid when he entered a room . Garrett was gunned down in 1908 at age 57 . Richardson had stressed that he would decide only the matter of Wallace 's promise of a pardon . Wallace -- who had also been a Union general in the Civil War and wrote the novel `` Ben-Hur '' -- had promised to grant Bonney amnesty for the fatal shooting of Brady and other `` misdeeds '' if he agreed to testify before a grand jury investigating another murder . Bonney cooperated , but the pardon did n't happen . According to Mark Lee Gardner and other historians , Bonney at one point wrote to Wallace , asking him to honor the deal . Garrett 's family argues Bonney decided to flee house arrest , making the pardon moot . He eventually was convicted in Brady 's death and was sentenced to death , the petition states . But he escaped from jail on April 28 , 1881 , killing two deputies . `` Still , regardless of Billy 's crimes , the motives of Richardson or the hollowness of posthumous justice , it all comes back to Wallace 's promise . A deal is a deal , and 129 years does n't change that . Billy is owed a pardon , '' Gardner wrote earlier this year in the Los Angeles Times .
NEW : Descendant of 19th century governor pleased with decision . Richardson did n't want to second-guess his predecessor . He said `` the facts and the evidence '' did not support a pardon . Richardson will not pardon the legendary outlaw Billy the Kid .