Mark Wahlberg Shouldn't Be Pardoned for 1988 Assaults, Says Prosecutor
The Gambler actor is asking Massachusetts for a pardon for assaults he committed in 1988, back when he was a troubled teenager in Boston.
But prosecutor Judith Beals says Wahlberg doesn't deserve a second chance.
"I see no reason why that history should be erased from the public record through a pardon," Beals wrote in a passionate op-ed for The Boston Globe.
She continued: "I'm glad Mark Wahlberg has turned his life around … But a public pardon is an extraordinary public act, requiring extraordinary circumstances because it essentially eliminates all effects of having ever been convicted.
"It is reserved to those who demonstrate 'extraordinary contributions to society,' requiring 'extensive service to others performed, in part, as a means of restoring community and making amends.' On this, I am not sold."
One of Beals's biggest issues with offering the actor a pardon is that he "has never acknowledged the racial nature of his crimes.
"Even his pardon petition describes his serial pattern of racist violence as a 'single episode' that took place while he was 'under the influence of alcohol and narcotics,' " she wrote.
But most important? "Wahlberg's status as a 'role model to troubled youth' would not be helped by a public pardon, as he claims," she wrote.
"In fact, a formal public pardon would highlight all too clearly that if you are white and a movie star, a different standard applies. Is that really what Wahlberg wants?"
The 43-year-old served 45 days in jail after being convicted of assault and a number of other charges.
For his part, the actor has insisted that he's not using his success as a movie star to sway the state's decision.
"In no way shape or form was I trying to use my celebrity or success to say, 'Well, I feel entitled to get this because of the fame and fortune,' " Wahlberg told the Associated Press in December.
"Every day I wake up trying to be the best person I can be."
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