Entertainment

Ex-Prosecutor: Don’t Pardon Mark Wahlberg for Racist Attacks

Published

11 years ago

January 14, 2015

Judith Beals, a former prosecutor in the Massachusetts attorney generals office, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015, in Boston. Beals, who secured a civil rights injunction against a young Mark Wahlberg in 1986 after he hurled rocks and racial epithets at black schoolchildren, said the actor should not be pardoned as he has requested for a separate attack on two Asian men. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes)

PHILIP MARCELO, Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — A former state prosecutor who secured a civil rights injunction against a young Mark Wahlberg after he hurled rocks and racial epithets at black schoolchildren says he shouldn’t be pardoned for attacks on two Asian men two years later.

Judith Beals, a former Massachusetts assistant attorney general, said Tuesday she believes in “forgiveness and reconciliation” but Wahlberg’s request should be denied because he hasn’t acknowledged the racial element of his crimes in documents he filed with the state last November.

“That acknowledgement of the crime and that facing of history is absolutely critical in the issuing of a pardon,” she said.

Wahlberg, who became a rapper and then an A-list actor nominated for an Oscar, acknowledged in his pardon application that he was high on marijuana and drugs at the time. He said he’s dedicated himself to becoming a better person as an adult.

“I’ve been looking for redemption (since) the day I woke up and realized that I done some horrific things and was on a path of self-destruction, as well as causing a lot of people harm,” Wahlberg, 43, said in a December interview. “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 wants to be officially cleared of a 1988 incident in which he hit a Vietnamese man in the head with a wooden stick while trying to steal alcohol from a convenience store. Wahlberg, then 16, punched another Vietnamese man in the face while trying to avoid police.

He ended up being convicted as an adult of assault and other charges and was sentenced to three months in jail. He was released after about 45 days.

Beals said what made Wahlberg’s 1988 crimes unique was that, just two years earlier, he had been issued a court order triggering criminal charges in the event he committed another hate crime.

According to court filings in that 1986 case, which Beals prosecuted, Wahlberg and two white friends chased three black siblings in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood, throwing rocks and yelling racial epithets.

The following day, Wahlberg and a larger group of white friends harassed a group of mostly black fourth-graders until an ambulance driver intervened.

Beals argued that Wahlberg’s status and wealth should not place him in a better position than others to erase his misdeeds. She also suggested hate crimes should be held to a higher standard.

Representatives for Wahlberg, whose movies include “Boogie Nights” and “Lone Survivor,” didn’t return messages seeking comment Tuesday.

The state parole board has to hold a hearing on the request by Wahlberg and send a recommendation to the governor, who decides whether to issue a pardon. Final say then rests with the Governor’s Council, an elected body.

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.

Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, took office this month.

___

Associated Press reporter John Carucci contributed to this story.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

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January 2, 2026

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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

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December 25, 2025

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Alameda County

Bling It On: Holiday Lights Brighten Dark Nights All Around the Bay

On the block where I grew up in the 1960s, it was an unwritten agreement among the owners of those row homes to put up holiday lights: around the front window and door, along the porch banister, etc. Some put the Christmas tree in the window, and you could see it through the open slats of the blinds.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

Christmas lights on a house near the writer’s residence in Oakland. Photo by Joseph Shangosola.

By Wanda Ravernell

I have always liked Christmas lights.

From my desk at my front window, I feel a quiet joy when the lights on the house across the street come on just as night falls.

My father, the renegade of the block, made no effort with lights, so my mother hung a wreath with two bells in the window. Just enough to let you know someone was at home.

Two doors down was a different story. Mr. King, the overachiever of the block, went all out for Christmas: The tree in the window, the lights along the roof and a Santa on his sleigh on the porch roof.

There are a few ‘Mr. Kings’ in my neighborhood.

In particular is the gentleman down the street. For Halloween, they erected a 10-foot skeleton in the yard, placed ‘shrunken heads’ on fence poles, pumpkins on steps and swooping bat wings from the porch roof. They have not held back for Christmas.

The skeleton stayed up this year, this time swathed in lights, as is every other inch of the house front. It is a light show that rivals the one in the old Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia.

I would hate to see their light bill…

As the shortest day of the year approaches, make Mr. King’s spirit happy and get out and see the lights in your own neighborhood, shopping plazas and merchant areas.

Here are some places recommended by 510 Families and Johnny FunCheap.

Oakland

Oakland’s Temple Hill Holiday Lights and Gardens is the place to go for a drive-by or a leisurely stroll for a religious holiday experience. Wear a jacket, because it’s chilly outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at 4220 Lincoln Ave., particularly after dark. The gardens are open all day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the lights on from dusk until closing.

Alameda

Just across the High Street Bridge from Oakland, you’ll find Christmas Tree Lane in Alameda.

On Thompson Avenue between High Street and Fernside drive, displays range from classic trees and blow-ups to a comedic response to the film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Lights turn on at dusk and can be seen through the first week in January.

Berkeley

The Fourth Street business district from University Avenue to Virginia Street in Berkeley comes alive with lights beginning at 5 p.m. through Jan. 1, 2026.

There’s also a display at one house at 928 Arlington St., and, for children, the Tilden Park Carousel Winter Wonderland runs through Jan. 4, 2026. Closed Christmas Day. For more information and tickets, call (510) 559-1004.

Richmond

The Sundar Shadi Holiday Display, featuring a recreation of the town of Bethlehem with life-size figures, is open through Dec. 26 at 7501 Moeser Lane in El Cerrito.

Marin County

In Marin, the go-to spot for ‘oohs and ahhs’ is the Holiday Light Spectacular from 4-9 p.m. through Jan. 4, 2026, at Marin Center Fairgrounds at 10 Ave of the Flags in San Rafael through Jan. 4. Displays dazzle, with lighted walkways and activities almost daily. For more info, go to: www.marincounty.gov/departments/cultural-services/department-sponsored-events/holiday-light-spectacular

The arches at Marin County Civic Center at 3501 Civic Center Dr. will also be illuminated nightly.

San Francisco

Look for light installations in Golden Gate Park, chocolate and cheer at Ghirardelli Square, and downtown, the ice rink in Union Square and the holiday tree in Civic Center Plaza are enchanting spots day and night. For neighborhoods, you can’t beat the streets in Noe Valley, Pacific Heights, and Bernal Heights. For glee and over-the-top glitz there’s the Castro, particularly at 68 Castro Street.

Livermore

The winner of the 2024 Great Light Flight award, Deacon Dave has set up his display with a group of creative volunteers at 352 Hillcrest Avenue since 1982. See it through Jan. 1, 2026. For more info, go to https://www.casadelpomba.com

Fremont

Crippsmas Place is a community of over 90 decorated homes with candy canes passed out nightly through Dec. 31. A tradition since 1967, the event features visits by Mr. and Mrs. Claus on Dec. 18 and Dec. 23 and entertainment by the Tri-M Honor Society at 6 p.m. on Dec. 22. Chrippsmas Place is located on: Cripps Place, Asquith Place, Nicolet Court, Wellington Place, Perkins Street, and the stretch of Nicolet Avenue between Gibraltar Drive and Perkins Street.