John Lennon's Murderer Mark Chapman Denied Parole

Mark Chapman, John Lennon's murderer, has been denied parole for the ninth time. He will not be eligible to be released again for another two years.

According to Billboard, Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono wrote the board to oppose his parole following five letters sent that recommended it. Her lawyer expressed that Ono fears for her safety and that of his two sons Sean and Julian if he is released. She also said that the killer himself might be in danger from fans of the ex-Beatle if he is freed.

Chapman reportedly met with a three-member parole panel but is to remain behind bars for the next two years. The official who reported to the New York Daily News was not made aware of the exact reasoning on the decision.

Chapman has repeatedly been denied parole despite holding a clean prison record since 1994 because granting it to him would “undermine respect for the law.” Ono’s lawyer did not return any of the phone calls placed for her comments on the matter. Chapman was initially sentenced for 20 years to life for murdering Lennon in 1980 outside of his home in the Dakota building across from Central Park following a recording session late at night.

Chapman has always said that he killed Lennon because he believed at the time that he was fake for leading an elitist lifestyle. He claims to have become religious and develop a belief in Jesus while he has been in prison. Chapman has been in protective custody since being incarcerated and is only allowed out of his cell for three hours per day.

Reportedly Chapman has turned himself around while in prison and is enrolled in the “family reunion” program and is allowed conjugal visits with his wife Gloria Hiroko Chapman. The two were married only 18 months before he murdered Lennon. She also reportedly visits with his stepfather.

Chapman has repeatedly said in parole hearings that he is content to pay for his crime through incarceration “however long it takes, forever.” Ono was furious when Chapman had said in the past that he believed Lennon would forgive him for his crimes if he were still alive. At the time of Lennon’s death Chapman described other celebrities he planned to kill, included the deceased Johnny Carson and Elizabeth Taylor.

At his parole hearing in 2014 Chapman claimed that a minister had offered him a job were he to be released.

Tags

John Lennon, The Beatles