http://abcnews.go.com/entertainment/mark-wahlberg-seeks-pardon-past-crime/story?id=27391548Mark Wahlberg Seeks Pardon for Past Crimes
Dec 5, 2014, 12:03 PM ET
By LESLEY MESSER
Mark Wahlberg is looking for a second chance.
The actor, who was convicted of several crimes, including assault and battery after severely beating a man in 1988, is seeking a pardon.
"I am deeply sorry for the actions that I took ... as well as for any lasting damage that I may have caused the citizens," he wrote in his application, obtained by ABC News. "Since that time, I have dedicated myself to becoming a better person and citizen so that I can be a role model to my children and others."
Wahlberg, now 43 and the father to four young children, cited his charitable work with the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation, the Dorchester Boys and Girls Club and the renovation of the Boston-area Parish Gym to show how he's changed. He also noted that now, he attends church almost daily.
"I have not engaged in philanthropic efforts in order to make people forget about my past," he wrote. "To the contrary, I want people to remember my past so that I can serve as an example of how lives can be turned around and how people can be redeemed."
One man that Wahlberg attacked in 1988 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, lost his sight in one eye.
The actor explained that the reason he's seeking a pardon is so that he can obtain a concessionaire's license in California, which would help with his restaurant business. He added that his record also prohibits him from obtaining positions in law enforcement, and he'd like to work with officers to assist at-risk individuals.
"Receiving a pardon would be a formal recognition that I am not the same person that I was on the night of April 8, 1988," he wrote. "It would be formal recognition that someone like me can receive official public redemption if he devotes himself to personal improvement and a life of good works."
The Massachusetts Board of Pardons will investigate the petition before it can be recommended to the governor. If the governor approves it, it would also require the approval of the governor's council.
A representative for Wahlberg could not immediately be reached by ABC News for comment.
