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Mark David Chapman, 61, will remain behind bars at a
maximum-security prison in Erie County near Buffalo, New York,
after his request for parole was rejected for the ninth time
since 2000.
Chapman, an obsessed fan of the musician and his former group
the Beatles, was convicted of shooting Lennon as he arrived with
his wife, Yoko Ono, at his apartment building on Manhattan's
Upper West Side on Dec. 8, 1980.
Chapman received a sentence of 20 years to life after pleading
guilty to a second-degree murder charge. His petition for parole
has come up every two years since 2000.
"In spite of many favorable factors, we find all to be
outweighed by the premeditated and celebrity seeking nature of
the crime," the New York Board of Parole said in a statement on
Monday rejecting Chapman's request.
"From our interview and review of your records, we find that
your release would be incompatible with the welfare of society
and would so deprecate that seriousness of the crime as to
undermine respect for the law."
Chapman will next appear for a parole hearing in August 2018,
according to online state records.
(Reporting by Chris Prentice; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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