Scott Thill

John Lennon's Killer Denied Parole (Again)

I read the news today, oh boy! Mark David Chapman, who soullessly murdered of one of music’s finest masters, was sent back to New York’s Attica Correctional Facility for the fifth consecutive time. Thank the Walrus for clear-minded parole boards. Clarity makes all the difference, it seems: Chapman told the board that he gunned John […]
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FILEThis 1975 file photo shows Mark David Chapman as a member of a YMCA group at Fort Chaffee, Ark. Chapman, who was convicted of shooting former Beatle John Lennon in New York City on Dec. 8, 1980, was denied parole for the fifth time Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008. He became eligible for parole at New York's Attica Correctional Facility after serving 20 years of a maximum life sentence. (AP Photo)AP

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I read the news today, oh boy!

Mark David Chapman, who soullessly murdered of one of music's finest masters, was sent back to New York's Attica Correctional Facility for the fifth consecutive time. Thank the Walrus for clear-minded parole boards.

Clarity makes all the difference, it seems: Chapman told the board that he gunned John Lennon down in 1980 "with an essentially clear mind," a statement that convinced them to forestall his freedom and declare him a continuing "concern for public safety and welfare."

A more obvious statement has never been released.

I can't imagine a world where Chapman ever gains his freedom, given that he has baldly admitted to planning Lennon's assassination for what amounts to little more than attention. So what better way is there to give him what he wants, other than keeping him behind bars forever labeled as the man who erased the brightest, bravest Beatle from the face of our Earth? The logic is dizzying, and painful.

this audio or video is no longer availableYou get what you pay for, Chapman. Congratulations, you're famous. Let's hope you stay that way, and that the parole boards of your future decide to grant your wish, and bar you from entering a life of anonymity for the rest of your days.

Photo: AP/File