Mark Wahlberg has ended his bid for a pardon for assaults he committed as a teenager in Massachusetts.
In 1988, a 16-year-old Mark hit a man in the head with a stick while trying to steal alcohol and punched another in the face while trying to avoid police. Mark said he was high at the time, and served about 45 days in jail for the attacks.
The actor has apologised and said he has dedicated himself to becoming a better person so he could be a role model and raised millions of dollars for charity, but his 2014 pardon application was met with sharp criticism.
A Massachusetts Parole Board spokesman said the Ted star didn’t respond to a letter asking if he wished to keep his petition open, so the matter has been closed.
Mark, now 45, told reporters at the Toronto Film Festival this week that he regrets asking for the pardon, but he’s grateful that the process allowed him to meet and apologise to one of his victims.
“Some good did come out of it,” he said.
Mark, who grew up in Boston, started out as rapper Marky Mark and went on to star in movies such as Boogie Nights, The Departed and The Fighter.
