There is no doubt that his fame and talent bought him a LOT of sanctuary, but it definitely indelibly stained his legacy. We’ll never know how much more he could have achieved, but looking back, he would have been better off serving the couple of years in jail, and moved on with his life. He’d still have that old stain, but it would be mostly forgiven as a youthful slip, blame it on drugs, and the times, and it would be overlooked for the most part. But he would have been welcomed back to Hollywood, and would have have had full access to the Hollywood system.