LENNON KILLER HAD HIT LIST OF CELEBS

ALBANY - John Lennon's murderer said he had a backup 
                          hit list in case he was unable to get to the legendary former 
                          Beatle.  
                          Mark David Chapman spoke of the list of other celebrities in 
                          a parole hearing last week. The transcript of that 50-minute 
                          closed-door hearing was released to The Post yesterday.  
                          Chapman, serving a life sentence in Attica prison for the 
                          1980 murder, was denied release by a three-member state 
                          Parole Board panel. He's eligible for another hearing in two 
                          years.  

                          Chapman told the panel that within a month of deciding to kill 
                          Lennon, he thought up "a substitute list" consisting of several 
                          names.  
                          "Probably, I thought he wouldn't be an attainable type of 
                          thing, and I did think of harming some people," he told the 
                          board.  
                          He listed three names, which state officials blacked out from 
                          the transcript and would not release, and said there were 
                          several others he could not remember.  
                          While none of the three other Beatles were on the list, 
                          sources said, Jack Jones, an author who has chronicled 
                          Chapman for 16 years, said Jackie Onassis, George C. Scott 
                          and Johnny Carson were among those considered killed.  
                          The inmate cited feelings such as "vanity," "jealousy," 
                          "anger" and "stupidity" as reasons he wanted to kill Lennon 
                          and other celebrities.  
                          While he said he was not asking the board to release him, 
                          Chapman insisted that he poses no threat to Lennon's family 
                          or other celebrities if paroled.  
                          During the hearing, the pudgy 45-year-old detailed his mental 
                          state leading up to the high-profile murder.  
                          He said his desire to kill Lennon began after seeing photos of 
                          the pop icon standing in front of the singer's Dakota 
                          apartment building in a book called "One Day at a Time."  
                          "I took it upon myself to judge him falsely for ... being 
                          something other than, you know, in a lotus position with a 
                          flower, and I got angry in my stupidity," he said.  
                          He spoke of an "obsession" on the night he killed Lennon, 
                          and claimed he heard a small voice - "probably something 
                          very evil" - telling him to "just do it."  
                          He told the board he never considered the effect the murder 
                          would have on Lennon's family and friends.  
                          Prison life the first few years was hard, and he said he 
                          experienced fits of rage that he learned to quell in the 1980s 
                          and '90s to the point that he says he is now free from any 
                          mental illness.  
                          Chapman said a recent statement from Lennon's widow, 
                          Yoko Ono, that she was violently shaking after witnessing 
                          the murder haunted him so much he said he considered 
                          skipping his parole hearing.  
                          He reiterated earlier statements that he belongs in prison, 
                          and is lucky to be alive.  
                          "I believe once you take a person's life, there's no way you 
                          can make up for that. Period," Chapman said.  
                          He also apologized to Ono, who in a letter asked the board to 
                          deny Chapman release for a recent statement in which he 
                          suggested Lennon would forgive him and want to see him 
                          freed.  
                          "Maybe it wasn't my right to speak my own crime victim's 
                          words," he said.  

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Tuesday October 3, 2000   3:14 PM ET         Text of Chapman Parole Decision         By The Associated Press 
  
Here is the text of the decision of a New York State Division of Parole  board to deny parole to John Lennon's killer, Mark David Chapman.        The parole board was headed by R. Guy Vizzie.  
       The other members were W.  William Smith Jr. and Daniel J. Doyle. 
       Parole is denied. You murdered the victim, John Lennon, when you fired a .38 special caliber Charter Arm 
       revolver, filled with hollow-point bullets. You discharged all five chambers and hit Mr. Lennon as many as four 
       times. Mr. Lennon was returning to his residence and was in the company of his wife when you committed this 
       murder. This act was calculated and unprovoked. You had planned this crime for a protracted period of time and 
       it is apparent that you were obsessed in causing fatal harm to John Lennon. In addition to being an international 
       celebrity, Mr. Lennon was a husband and a father of two young children. 
       During your incarceration, you have maintained an exemplary disciplinary record which this panel has noted and 
       considered. This panel also recognizes that, because of your continued special housing status, you have been 
       unable to avail yourself of anti-violence and/or anti-aggression programming. 
       Your most vicious and violent act was apparently fueled by your need to be acknowledged. During your parole 
       hearing, this panel noted your continued interest in maintaining your notoriety. 
       When all factors are reviewed, your discretionary release is determined to be inappropriate. Additionally, this 
       panel strongly believes that your release to parole supervision at this time would deprecate the seriousness 
       of the crime and serve to undermine respect for the law.