John Lennon’s Killer Mark David Chapman Will Face Parole Board This Week

Hulton Archives, Getty Images

It’s unfortunate, but the name of Mark David Chapman will continually be mentioned in the same breath of John Lennon, as the man who shot and killed the Beatles legend returns to the headlines every few years when his parole hearing comes up. Chapman will go before the parole board for the seventh time this week at New York State’s Department of Corrections. Department spokesperson Linda Foglia revealed that a decision on whether or not to grant his release will be made public by the end of the week.
Chapman, who is now 57, is serving a prison sentence of 20 years to life for shooting the singer four times in the back outside of his New York apartment building on Dec. 8, 1980. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
The inmate’s interview will take place before the parole board at Wende Correction Facility, a maximum-security prison in Alden, N.Y. where Chapman is being held.
According to Reuters, the three-member parole board cited “[the] disregard you displayed for the norms of our society and the sanctity of human life” in written comments after Chapman’s 2010 hearing while denying the parole request. Prior to that hearing, the parole division received letters arguing against Chapman’s release, including one from Yoko Ono, who felt that he might pose a risk to herself and her sons if released.