The killer of John Lennon has been denied parole for a fifth time because of “concern for the public safety and welfare”, a source announced. Mark Chapman who is 53 will remain in New York’s Attica prison, for at least another two years. Chapman has been in jail for 27 years since pleading guilty to murdering the former Beatle as he and wife Yoko Ono returned to their apartment building in Manhattan on 8 December 1980.
Chapman’s parole board noted that Chapman had a clean disciplinary record since 1994 but said the murder of Lennon had “precipitated a horrendously tragic event which has impacted many individuals”.

A movie was released this year charting the three days of Chapman’s life prior to the day he shot John Lennon. The independent film, released this year and starring 30 Seconds To Mars’ Jared Leto, received mixed reviews and limited world wide release. Leto gained 67 pounds to play the overweight Chapman by drinking microwaved pints of ice cream mixed with soy sauce and olive oil every night to bloat himself further. At times, he had to use a wheelchair due to the stress of the sudden increase in weight put on his body. The title of the film “Chapter 27″ suggests a continuation of J.D. Salinger’s classic novel The Catcher in the Rye, which has 26 chapters, and which Chapman was carrying when he shot Lennon. Chapman was allegedly attempting to model his life after Holden Caulfield, the main character of the book, and wanted to write chapter 27 in Lennon’s blood.