Mark David Chapman seeks parole, 40 years after Lennon’s killing

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The man who gunned down John Lennon outside his Manhattan apartment in 1980 was denied parole for an 11th time, state corrections officials said Wednesday.

Mark David Chapman was denied after being interviewed by a parole board Aug. 19, according to corrections officials. Chapman, 65, is serving a 20-years-to-life sentence at Wende Correctional Facility, east of Buffalo.

Chapman shot and killed the former Beatle on the night of Dec. 8, 1980. Lennon had signed his then newly released “Double Fantasy” album for Chapman, who then remained for hours outside the musician’s Manhattan apartment building, the Dakota. When Lennon returned home, Chapman shot him four times in the back.

Chapman was arrested on the scene without incident and he pleaded guilty to the shooting.

He has said previously that he feels “more and more shame” every year for the crime.

“I was too far in,” Chapman told a parole board in 2018. “I do remember having the thought of, ‘Hey, you have got the album now. Look at this, he signed it, just go home.’ But there was no way I was just going to go home.”

Chapman’s next parole hearing is scheduled for August 2022.