Desert Peoples / Homesteaders
Goodwin Knight, Governor of California
July 24-26, 1956
On May 11, 1943, Bill Keys shot and killed neighboring landowner Worth Bagley during a dispute over Keys’ access to a nearby water source. While Keys maintained it was an act of self-defense, he was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to prison. He was released on parole in 1948, but it took until 1956 and a years-long campaign by family friend and famous writer Earl Stanley Gardner for Keys to obtain a full pardon by the Governor of California.
Paper. H 32.2, W 21.3 cm
Willis Keys Papers
Joshua Tree National Park, JOTR 11927 and 11928
