Art News

New Mexico Uses Wild West Gunslinger Billy the Kid’s Legacy to Draw Tourists

SANTA FE, N.M. (REUTERS)- Wild West gunslinger Billy the Kid was shot and killed in southern New Mexico 130 years ago, but state officials still can’t seem to let him rest in peace. Last year, then-Governor Bill Richardson made headlines by suggesting he might pardon the 19th-century outlaw, only to decide against it on his last day in office. This year, Richardson’s successor, Governor Susana Martinez, has launched a statewide “manhunt” for the Kid in a campaign to boost tourism to the Land of Enchantment. The promotion offers a $10,000 grand prize reward to the search “posse” that first completes a prescribed series of challenges in a scavenger hunt-like contest to slap the Kid with a symbolic arrest warrant. The prize is based on the $500 reward posted for