The man who killed John Lennon has been denied parole for a 12th time, according to New York corrections officials.
Mark David Chapman murdered the former Beatles member outside his Manhattan apartment on December 8, 1980. As Lennon walked into the archway of his apartment at The Dakota, Chapman shot Lennon from a few yards away with a Charter Arms Undercover .38 Special revolver. Lennon was hit four times from the back.
Chapman remained at the scene reading J.D. Salinger’s novel “The Catcher in the Rye” until he was arrested by police.
Chapman, who said he struggled with depression and other mental health challenges throughout his life leading up to Lennon’s killing, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in June 1981. He was sentenced two months later.
Chapman, 67, appeared before a parole board at the end of August, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
Chapman first became eligible for parole in 2000 after serving twenty years in prison. Under New York state law, he is required to have a parole hearing every two years from that year onward. Since that time, a three-member board has denied Chapman parole twelve times.
State officials have yet to release transcripts of Chapman’s latest parole hearing. However, he has previously expressed his regret over killing Lennon.
Source: RTT Music News
