Lennon assassin to stay in jail
John Lennon and Yoko Ono lived together in the Manhattan appartment outside of which Lennon was shot dead
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Wednesday, 11, Oct 2006 09:43
The killer of John Lennon will stay in jail for at least two more years after a New York parole board deemed him unsuitable for freedom.
Mark David Chapman, 51, had already been turned down for parole on three occasions before yesterday's decision by a three-member panel at the Attica correctional facility.
The panel deemed that that, because of the "extremely violent nature of the offence, [Chapman's] release would not be in the best interest of the community".
Chapman shot the Beatles frontman dead outside his New York home on December 8th 1980, just hours after having a copy of Lennon's record Double Fantasy signed by him.
Following the shooting, Chapman sat down outside Lennon's Dakota apartment still holding the record and a copy of JD Salinger's novel Catcher in the Rye.
Lennon was shot five times in the incident and was declared dead later that evening after being rushed to hospital, prompting a mass outpouring of grief from his many fans.
Chapman has previously applied for parole every two years since October 2000, but has always been turned down.
In a one-page statement in relation to the latest refusal, the parole panel wrote: "The panel remains concerned about the bizarre nature of this premeditated and violent crime."
Lennon would have turned 66 on Monday.