True. But once a person accepts a pardon it is an admission of guilt. As the court said.
“some pardons expressly state that they are based on the pardoner’s decision that the defendant was actually innocent; and some legal rules expressly contemplate that — consider, for instance, the federal statute that provides for compensation of the unjustly convicted, which allows a plaintiff to prevail by showing (among other things) “that he has been pardoned upon the stated ground of innocence and unjust conviction.” UPDATE: The Justice Department Standards for Consideration of Clemency Petitioners also expressly contemplate the possibility of “pardon on grounds of innocence or miscarriage of justice,” “
I defy you to find a judge in the last 100 years that has held that accepting a pardon is an admission of guilt. Many pardons are given precisely because the person is believed to be innocent and wrongfully convicted...like Arpaio.
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Pardons are not “accepted;” they are just invoked. There is no acceptance process.