The title refers to the American western outlaw Billy the Kid also known as Henry McCarty (birth name) and William H. Bonney. After his participation in the Lincoln County New Mexico range wars in 1877, he traveled through Texas earning a reputation as a gambler, outlaw and gun slinger. He was eventually caught by Pat Garrett, who later killed him after an escape from jail. Billy the Kid did not gain notoriety until after his death when his story was told in a sensationalist biography.