Mark David Chapman Denied Parole Again

The man who shot John Lennon has been denied parole for the fifth time because the New York parole board said he remains a threat to the public. Mark David Chapman has been in prison for 27 years since shooting the former Beatle (pictured) on a Manhattan sidewalk on Dec. 8, 1980.

Chapman will not be eligible for another parole hearing until August 2010.

Now 53 years old, Chapman first became eligible for parole in 2000 after serving 20 years of his life sentence. He has been turned down five times.

In a one-page decision parole board members said they denied Chapman's parole "due to concern for the public safety and welfare."

'Essentially a Clear Mind'

A former maintenance man from Hawaii, Chapman fired five shots outside Lennon's apartment building on Dec. 8, 1980, hitting the singer and songwriter four times in front of his wife, Yoko Ono.

During his appearance at the parole hearing, Chapman said he killed Lennon "with an essentially clear mind."

See Also:
John Lennon's Killer Denied Parole for 5th Time

^{Photo: Junko Kimura / Getty Images}