Parole Request Is Denied for John Lennon’s Killer

A New York state parole board on Tuesday denied a parole request by Mark David Chapman, the assailant who killed former Beatle John Lennon two decades ago.

Acting quickly after a 50-minute hearing, the three board members concluded that releasing Chapman from prison would “deprecate the seriousness of the crime and serve to undermine respect for the law.”

Chapman, 45, is serving 20 years to life at the Attica Correctional Institution in upstate New York. He shot Lennon outside the Dakota, the Manhattan apartment building where the rock star lived, as Lennon and his wife were returning from an evening recording session on Dec. 8, 1980.

The board issued a one-page statement explaining its decision to deny parole for the killer, who fired four hollow-point bullets into the musician’s body. Calling the murder “calculated and unprovoked,” the parole board said that the shooting was apparently fueled by Chapman’s need to be acknowledged. The inmate has a “continued interest” in maintaining notoriety, the board said.

Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, said she respects the decision and released a letter she wrote the board in September urging Chapman’s continuing incarceration.

Ono said that if he were freed, “myself and John’s two sons would not feel safe for the rest of our lives.”

“People who are in positions of high visibility and outspokenness such as John would also feel unsafe,” Ono added.

Board members said Chapman had an exemplary disciplinary record in prison, where he works as a clerk in the law library. The board noted that he has served time in special protective housing and was unable to undergo anti-violence or anti-aggression training.

Tuesday was the first time Chapman was eligible to appear before the parole board.

Inmate advocates had predicted that Chapman would remain at Attica, citing the extremely public nature of the killing and the fact that people convicted of violent criminal acts in New York state rarely are released the first time they request parole.

Chapman is eligible for another hearing in two years.