He decided the best course of action was to provide amnesty to those who had been involved, if they were willing to lay down their guns (Badhombres.com). The governor offered to give Billy a pardon if he would testify and Billy agreed. A fake arrest was set up and Billy was taken in and given full protection as he testified before the grand jury (Underwood). The deal, unfortunately for Billy, fell through and resulted in him being tried for the murder of Sheriff Brady (Badhombres.com).
Billy was tried, convicted and sentenced to hang by Judge Warren Bristol (Underwood). Having no desire to be hung Billy orchestrated an escape from the Lincoln County jail on April 28, 1881. In his escape, the Kid shot and killed two deputies (Reuters). His escape represents the end for Billy the Kid, it provides an opportunity for Pat Garrett to hunt down the Kid and ultimately kill him on July 14, 1881 (Reuters).
In 1948, a man by the name of Ollie L. Roberts, better known as Brushy Bill, came forward to claim he was the Kid. William Morrison was an investigator for a man who claimed to have been a participant in the Lincoln County War. When asked if he was the last survivor, the man claimed that Billy was alive in Texas. Being intrigued by the possibility of finding Billy the Kid alive, Morrison searched for his possible whereabouts eventually leading to him Hico (McLeod).
When confronted, Brushy Bill at first denied being the outlaw, but after persistent questioning, he relented. Bill agreed to tell his story if Morrison would help him get a pardon and that there be no publicity. In 1950, Brushy Bill and Morrison met with the governor of New Mexico who turned the event into a circus, but never granted a hearing or a pardon (McLeod).
Brushy's story is to be believed for several reasons. First off many people who had known Billy the Kid signed affidavits stating Brushy was in fact Billy. The body of the man to be removed from the ranch had a beard, in the entire time Billy had spent in jail, being nearly four months, he had been unable to shave and in which time he never did grow a beard.
