His pardon application includes the following ambition: “My hope is that, if I receive a pardon, troubled youths will see this as an inspiration and motivation that they too can turn their lives around.”
Interesting logic. It works better, though, with this rewrite: “My hope is that, by not seeking a pardon, troubled youths will know that their actions have repercussions, even if they later become wealthy celebrities. Although this wonderful country provides plenty of opportunity for them to turn their lives around, they can never use their renown to erase the indelible consequences of their decisions.”
Is a young person not going to commit a crime they’d otherwise commit because Wahlberg got his own criminal record expunged? Or would a young person be less likely to commit a crime, (supposing, by the way, that they look to Wahlberg as the arbiter of their ethics) if they knew that even if they managed to overcome obstacles and become successful later in life, they could not get pardoned?
