Background: The Dakota. Inset: NYPD / Public Domain
The man who murdered John Lennon outside the legendary musician’s Upper West Side home has once again been denied parole, AP News reports.
Mark David Chapman, now 70 years old, was turned down at his latest hearing on August 27, according to New York State prison officials. This marks his 14th unsuccessful attempt to gain release since becoming eligible in 2000. He remains incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility in Stormville, New York, where he’s serving a sentence of 20 years to life.
Lennon, 40 at the time of his death, was returning home with wife Yoko Ono on the night of December 8, 1980, when Chapman approached him outside the Dakota, the landmarked building on Central Park West and West 72nd Street. Hours earlier, the former Beatle had autographed a copy of his album “Double Fantasy” for Chapman—a moment famously captured by a fan’s camera. Later that evening, Chapman shot Lennon multiple times as the couple returned from a recording session.
Chapman remained at the scene, reportedly reading The Catcher in the Rye when police arrived. He was arrested without incident.
The transcript of his most recent hearing has not yet been made public, but in a 2020 parole interview, Chapman admitted he committed the act in pursuit of notoriety. “I knew it was evil. I knew it was wrong,” he said. “But I wanted the fame so much that I was willing to give everything and take a human life.”
Chapman’s next opportunity to request parole will come in February 2027.
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