John Lennon's Killer to Receive Another Parole Hearing This Week

Mark David Chapman's booking photo from 1980.

The New York State Department of Corrections announced today that Mark David Chapman, the man who shot and killed John Lennon, will receive another parole hearing this week, Reuters reports.

This will mark the seventh parole hearing for the 57-year-old, who was sentenced to 20 years to life for his murder of the former Beatle. Chapman shot Lennon four times in the back outside Lennon's apartment in New York City on December 8, 1980, shortly after the musician had signed an album for him. Chapman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and had been held at Attica state prison until May, when he was transferred to Wende Correctional Facility.

The hearings have been held every two years since 2000, and Chapman has been denied parole each time. Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, has lobbied the parole board against Chapman's release in the past, saying that she feared for her own safety as well as Lennon's two sons, Julian and Sean Lennon. 

In 2000, a member of the Correctional Association of New York told the Associated Press that "If Jesus Christ returned to earth for the sole purpose of decreeing that it would be appropriate to release Mark Chapman, the parole board wouldn't be willing to take the political heat they would get by doing it." 

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John Lennon's Killer to Receive Another Parole Hearing This Week

Mark David Chapman's booking photo from 1980.

The New York State Department of Corrections announced today that Mark David Chapman, the man who shot and killed John Lennon, will receive another parole hearing this week, Reuters reports.

This will mark the seventh parole hearing for the 57-year-old, who was sentenced to 20 years to life for his murder of the former Beatle. Chapman shot Lennon four times in the back outside Lennon's apartment in New York City on December 8, 1980, shortly after the musician had signed an album for him. Chapman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and had been held at Attica state prison until May, when he was transferred to Wende Correctional Facility.

The hearings have been held every two years since 2000, and Chapman has been denied parole each time. Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, has lobbied the parole board against Chapman's release in the past, saying that she feared for her own safety as well as Lennon's two sons, Julian and Sean Lennon. 

In 2000, a member of the Correctional Association of New York told the Associated Press that "If Jesus Christ returned to earth for the sole purpose of decreeing that it would be appropriate to release Mark Chapman, the parole board wouldn't be willing to take the political heat they would get by doing it." 

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Documenting John Lennon's Love for Cats

Photo Illustration: Tom Hanley/Redferns/Lise Gagne/Getty

The website Mental Floss has put together an exhaustive list of all of John Lennon's cats, from his childhood on through his career with the Beatles and up to his final days living in Manhattan with his wife, Yoko Ono. As it turns out, Lennon totally adored felines, and his distinctly acerbic wit came through in how he named them.

For example, Lennon's cat during the second half of the Beatles' career was named Jesus, which was likely a tongue-in-cheek response to the media controversy over his comment that the Beatles were "bigger than Jesus." (Paul McCartney apparently also owned a cat named Jesus, so this joke clearly went over well with the Beatles camp.) Later on, Lennon would have a pair of cats, one black and one white, that were named Salt and Pepper, and another pair of rescued strays named Major and Minor.

Lennon's first cat as a young boy was named Elvis Presley, which he and his mother named after the singer, though they would eventually discover that the cat was female when she had a litter of kittens in their cupboard.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Documenting John Lennon's Love for Cats

Photo Illustration: Tom Hanley/Redferns/Lise Gagne/Getty

The website Mental Floss has put together an exhaustive list of all of John Lennon's cats, from his childhood on through his career with the Beatles and up to his final days living in Manhattan with his wife, Yoko Ono. As it turns out, Lennon totally adored felines, and his distinctly acerbic wit came through in how he named them.

For example, Lennon's cat during the second half of the Beatles' career was named Jesus, which was likely a tongue-in-cheek response to the media controversy over his comment that the Beatles were "bigger than Jesus." (Paul McCartney apparently also owned a cat named Jesus, so this joke clearly went over well with the Beatles camp.) Later on, Lennon would have a pair of cats, one black and one white, that were named Salt and Pepper, and another pair of rescued strays named Major and Minor.

Lennon's first cat as a young boy was named Elvis Presley, which he and his mother named after the singer, though they would eventually discover that the cat was female when she had a litter of kittens in their cupboard.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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