He did real harm that his victim did not forgive, so he's supposed to hold that. You're not supposed to ask the governor for an official pardon, erasing his crime from the criminal record.

edit: "“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,” he writes." Yeah, I DO NOT believe the world famous multimillionaire needs a governor's pardon to help kids.

edit2: given the wikipedia article https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36805073's links to, it seems like Wahlberg himself now doesn't believe he should have tried to obtain a pardon.