John Lennon‘s Killer, Mark David โChapman,โฃ Denied Parole for 14th Time
Albany, NY – Mark David Chapman, the man who fatally shot John Lennon in 1980, was denied โparole for the fourteenth time on August 27th, officials with the New Yorkโ State Board of Parole confirmed. โThe decisionโค means Chapman, nowโข 70 years old, will remain incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional facility in the Hudson Valley.
This latestโข rejection underscores theโค enduring impactโข ofโค Lennon’s murder and the Board’s consistent โassessment of Chapman as a continued risk to public safety. โThe denial โimpacts not only โChapman, who will next be eligible for parole in February 2027, but also the ongoing process of grappling withโ a tragedy that reverberated globally and continuesโ to affect Lennon’s family, fans, and the broader โcultural landscape.
Chapman fired at Lennonโค on December 8,โฃ 1980, outside the โขDakotaโค building in โManhattan, shortly after the former Beatle signed an album for him.โค He then waited for police, holding a โcopy โof โJ.D. Salinger’s Theโข Catcher in the Rye. In 1981, chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.
During his most recent hearing, Chapman again expressed โฃremorse, previouslyโ stating in 2002, “There was evil in my heart.Iโ will โขnotโฃ blame anyone else. I knew what I was doingโ and knew it โwas evil, that it was wrong, but I wanted so much the fameโ that Iโค was willing โฃto give everything and take his life fromโข a human being.”
The Board has consistently cited Chapman’s “selfish indifference for a human life of โคglobal transcendence” and the lastingโค void created by Lennon’sโ death as key factors in their decisions. They maintain that the consequences of his actionsโ continue to be felt worldwide.
Johnโข Lennon’s killer Mark David Chapman learns his fate โคin his 14th parole hearing. Read more: https://t.co/Vf03Tsyn88 pic.twitter.com/5flpqPqrKp
– โComplex โ(@Complex) Septemberโค 11, 2025