John Lennon’s killer has been denied parole for the tenth time.
Mark David Chapman – who shot the Beatles icon dead outside his New York apartment in December 1980 – must now wait another two years before he’s able to apply for parole again.
A New York State parole board panel said that Chapman’s release "would be incompatible with the welfare and safety of society and would so deprecate the serious nature of the crime as to undermine respect for the law".
Chapman, 63, is currently serving a life sentence after he admitted to shooting Lennon in a bid to achieve fame for himself.
In a decision obtained by CBS News, the three-person panel explained: "You admittedly carefully planned and executed the murder of a world-famous person for no reason other than to gain notoriety.
"While no one person’s life is any more valuable than another’s life, the fact that you chose someone who was not only a world renown person and beloved by millions, regardless of the pain and suffering you would cause to his family, friends and so many others, you demonstrated a callous disregard for the sanctity of human life and the pain and suffering of others. This fact remains a concern to this panel."
What’s more, the panel worries Chapman – who appeared before the panel on Wednesday (22.08.18) – could himself be at risk because "someone may attempt to or succeed in harming you out of anger and or revenge, or for the same reason that you did John Lennon; to assume notoriety".
Chapman has been denied parole on every occasion since he became eligible in 2000, but has previously expressed regret about killing Lennon.
John Lennon’s killer denied parole
