John Lennon's killer denied parole again, for 12th time

John Lennon's killer denied parole again, for 12th time
BRISTOL, ENGLAND - JULY 31: The finish touches are made to a portrait of John Lennon by the Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra on the final day of Upfest, Europe's largest street art festival on July 31, 2017 in Bristol, England. The annual event, in the hometown of guerrilla artist Banksy, started in 2008 and is now Europe's biggest street-art festival, attracting more than 350 artists from across the globe to live paint on walls and surfaces in 37 locations around Bedminster and Southville over three days. Some of the graffiti art work is painted on moveable boards and temporary hoardings, but murals on some venues and buildings remain all year until the next festival. Photo credit Matt Cardy/Getty Images

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The man who shot and killed John Lennon outside his Manhattan apartment building in 1980 has been denied parole for a 12th time, New York corrections officials said Monday

Mark David Chapman, 67, appeared before a parole board at the end of August, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

Chapman shot and killed Lennon on the night of Dec. 8, 1980, as Lennon and Yoko Ono were returning to their Upper West Side apartment. Lennon had signed an autograph for Chapman on a copy of his recently released album, “Double Fantasy,” earlier that day.

State officials have yet to make transcripts of Chapman’s latest board interview available, but he has repeatedly expressed remorse in previous parole hearings. Chapman called his actions “despicable” during his hearing in 2020, and said he would have “no complaint whatsoever” if they chose to leave him in prison for the rest of his life.

“I assassinated him ... because he was very, very, very famous and that’s the only reason and I was very, very, very, very much seeking self-glory. Very selfish,” Chapman said then.

Chapman is serving a 20-years-to-life sentence at Green Haven Correctional Facility, north of New York City, according to online state corrections records.

He is next due to appear before the parole board in February 2024.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: Matt Cardy/Getty Images