John Lennon’s Killer Denied Parole in New York
Wed Oct 9, 2:27 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Mark David Chapman, in prison for murdering former Beatle John Lennon more than two decades ago, has lost a second bid for parole, authorities said on Wednesday.
Chapman, serving a sentence of 20 years to life for slaying Lennon outside his apartment on Dec. 8, 1980, is behind bars at Attica prison near Rochester, New York. The decision to reject his parole request was issued on Oct. 9, which would have been Lennon’s 62nd birthday.
“Discretionary release at this time would deprecate the seriousness of your offense and diminish respect for the law,” a three-member panel of the New York State Board of Parole said in a statement addressed to Chapman following an interview with him on Tuesday.
Chapman is in special housing, away from the general prison population, the board said.
The panel told Chapman that while his behavior was “very positive, your current positive adjustment in this controlled and highly structured environment cannot predict your community behavior.”
This was the second time Chapman’s parole was denied. He was also turned down two years ago. His next parole hearing was scheduled for October 2004.
Chapman shot and killed Lennon as he was arriving home at the Dakota apartment building across from Central Park with his wife Yoko Ono.
A spokesman for Ono was not available to comment.
According to the board, Chapman has acknowledged he planned Lennon’s murder for several months, “intending to wipe out this international celebrity for being a hypocrite living a decadent lifestyle.”