Mark Wahlberg tells The New York Daily News that he wants his 1988 felony assault conviction pardoned because he's a good role model and "every single day I try to better myself as a person." He also, according to his original petition, wants to volunteer with the LAPD.

Wahlberg explains:

I've worked extremely hard for the last 27 years since I woke up sober and realized the horrible mistakes I had made and the horrible pain I had caused so many people. ...

This is not something I just decided to do overnight, two years later, well I'm a big celebrity so I should feel like I can do whatever I want. No, I've worked really hard to be a better person and to be a good influence on kids growing up in situations like mine.

His 1988 conviction for punching two Vietnamese men and blinding one of them isn't the only crime Marky Mark committed back in the day, just his only felony conviction. Wahlberg settled two cases involving racial slurs and assault in 1986 and 1992.

"Whether [the pardon] happens or not, it won't change how hard I've worked at becoming a better person," he says.

[Photo via AP]