The famous assailant of music legend John Lennon, Mark David Chapman, has been denied parole for a seventh time by the New York State Department of Corrections.
After pleading guilty to second degree murder following the December 8, 1980 shooting of the former Beatle, Chapman – now 57 years-old – had been incarcerated in a maximum security prison in Attica, NY for 31 years until being transferred to another maximum security prison in Erie County, NY in protective custody. The Reason for his move to protective custody was not made available.
According to Chapman’s sentence, he is eligible for parole every two years after 2000, and has been promptly denied at each opportunity. The parole board’s deciding member, Sally Thompson, gave her reasons for denying parole for the seventh time: “Despite your positive efforts while incarcerated, your release at this time would greatly undermine respect for the law and tend to trivialize the tragic loss of life which you caused as a result of this heinous, unprovoked, violent, cold and calculated crime.”
In 2010, the Attica board had received letters urging to deny parole to Chapman, including from Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono. Ono argued that releasing Chapman was a threat to her, her family, the public, and Chapman himself.
Watch The Beatles’ “Let It Be” below:
