{"id":35068,"date":"2014-12-13T00:20:36","date_gmt":"2014-12-12T16:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=35068"},"modified":"2014-12-12T23:27:10","modified_gmt":"2014-12-12T15:27:10","slug":"wahlberg-everyone-has-an-opinion-about-his-request-for-pardon-for-1988-assaults-conviction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2014\/12\/13\/wahlberg-everyone-has-an-opinion-about-his-request-for-pardon-for-1988-assaults-conviction\/","title":{"rendered":"Wahlberg: \u2018Everyone has an opinion\u2019 about his request for pardon for 1988 assaults conviction"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mark<\/a>
Mark Wahlberg. David Torcivia \/ Flickr<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW YORK\u2014Since it was revealed Mark Wahlberg is seeking a pardon in Massachusetts for assaults he committed as a teen, the actor is well aware that the court of public opinion has weighed in on why he wants one and whether he deserves it.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone has an opinion and has a reason why they think I\u2019m doing it,\u201d said the actor Wednesday at the New York premiere of his new movie \u201cThe Gambler,\u201d opening Dec. 25.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been working very hard to correct a lot of mistakes that I made since the day that I woke up and realized, \u2018You know what? I need to be a leader instead of a follower,\u201d\u2018 he said.<\/p>\n

A document was filed Nov. 26 requesting the pardon. It states in 1988, when Wahlberg was 16, he hit a man in the head with a wooden stick while trying to steal two cases of alcohol in front of a convenience store near his family\u2019s home in the Dorchester section of Boston. He punched another man in the face while trying to avoid police.<\/p>\n

Wahlberg admits in the application that he was high on marijuana and narcotics at the time.<\/p>\n

He ended up being convicted as an adult of assault and other charges, and he was sentenced to three months in jail. He said he was released after serving about 45 days.<\/p>\n

Wahlberg, 43, who went on to be a rapper and then A-list actor who\u2019s been nominated for an Oscar, said he isn\u2019t trying to use his public persona to sway the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn no way shape or form was I trying to use my celebrity or success to say, \u2018Well, I feel entitled to get this because of the fame and fortune.\u201d\u2018<\/p>\n

Instead he said \u201cEvery day I wake up trying to be the best person I can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also tries to set an example for kids growing up in tough neighbourhoods like he did.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve worked really hard to be a positive influence for kids growing up in communities like mine who don\u2019t really have a chance, and try to provide an opportunity for them to be more successful and that\u2019s why I\u2019m doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The actor said he\u2019s never shied away from talking about his troubled past.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s not like the story hasn\u2019t been talked about. I\u2019ve been talking about it for 25 years. You read any piece that\u2019s ever been done on me it\u2019s really the same old kind of story and for me to kind of be able to move on from that and move forward and continue to show kids that anything\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Massachusetts Parole Board would have to review Wahlberg\u2019s case and make a recommendation to the governor, who can grant pardons.<\/p>\n

Pardons rarely are issued in Massachusetts. Gov. Deval Patrick has not approved one in his nearly two terms in office. Nor did former Gov. Mitt Romney.<\/p>\n

Wahlberg said his commitment to being a good person and role model stands, no matter the outcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will continue to do that whether the pardon is granted or not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK\u2014Since it was revealed Mark Wahlberg is seeking a pardon in Massachusetts for assaults he committed as a teen, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":35069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hollywood","mauthors-alicia-rancilio","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}