‘Mark Wahlberg Should Not Be Granted A Pardon For Racist Attack,’ Former Prosecutor Declares

Former state prosecutor Judith Beals said Tuesday that she believes in “forgiveness and reconciliation,” but the former assistant attorney general who brought a civil rights injunction against Mark Wahlberg as a youth after he threw rocks and hurled racially-charged profanity at black schoolchildren said that he should not be given pardon for an additional attack two years later during which he assaulted two Asian men.

Beals’ resistance to support the granting of a pardon to Wahlberg is not only the result of the nature of the crimes, but as Yahoo News indicates, she has brought to light that the “request should be denied because [Mr. Wahlberg]] hasn’t acknowledged the racial element of his crimes in documents he filed with the state last November.”

Beal has been quoted on this matter.

“Acknowledgement of the crime and that facing of history is absolutely critical in the issuing of a pardon.”

Mark Wahlberg, who went on to become a rapper (in the 90’s) and a notable, award-winning actor, did admit on his pardon application that he was affected by marijuana and various substances at the time of the transgressions. He also claimed that he has dedicated himself to becoming a better person as an adult.

The 43-year-old verbally expressed his remorse for his actions during an interview in December.

“I’ve been looking for redemption (since) the day I woke up and realized that I’d done some horrific things and was on a path of self-destruction, as well as causing a lot of people harm. When I decided to go and petition for a pardon, it wasn’t based on the things I accomplished in my career. It’s been the things I’ve been able to do in my personal life: giving back to the community and helping kids, especially inner-city kids and at-risk youth and kids growing up in that same situation.”

Wahlberg is seeking clearance of all charges against him for a 1988 incident during which he hit a Vietnamese man in the head with a wooden stick in an attempt to steal alcohol. While trying to avoid police in a means to escape, Wahlberg then punched another Vietnamese man in the face. Wahlberg was 16 years of age at the time.

The Oscar-winning actor then was convicted as an adult of assault and other charges and sentenced to three months in jail. As the Chicago Tribune recounts, “He was released after about 45 days.”

Final say as to whether the pardon is granted to Mark Wahlberg or not ultimately rests in the hands of the Governor’s Council after a hearing has been held by the state parole board. As the Tribune indicates, “Governors generally don’t make pardon decisions until they’re leaving office. Former Gov. Deval Patrick, a Democrat, issued just four in the final days of his eight-year tenure. His predecessor, Mitt Romney, a Republican, never issued one.”

[Feature image via Biography]