Mark David Chapman’s been applying for parole since he was first eligible in 2000. Every two years the man timidly gets up in front of a parole board to await his fate, and every year, he is denied the ability to escape the prison walls. As it turns out, this year has not proven to be an exception; the New York State Department of Corrections recently announced the man who was convicted of murdering the famous Beatle John Lennon will remain behind bars for at least two more years.
In many ways, Chapman has been a model prisoner. He’s worked in the prison library and as a legal assistant, and, according to CNN, the man hasn’t had a prison infraction since 1994. Despite having no criminal record prior to the conviction, the man’s been in prison for murder since 1981. Which means he has spent 31 years behind bars. That’s a long time to spend in prison for a murder that wasn’t particularly gruesome, but many feel it isn’t long enough for the man who killed one of the most prominent musical figures the world has ever offered.
The Department of Corrections is stating the welfare of the community would suffer if Chapman were released.
"(A) discretionary release remains inappropriate at this time and incompatible with the welfare of the community.”
However, if we are reading between the lines, what the State really seems to mean is that no one thinks Chapman could survive outside the prison walls. Some people are really great at holding a grudge, Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono included, and killing a beloved musician puts you pretty high on some people’s hate list. The State might let the man leave prison, eventually, but I’m betting in two years, Pop Blend will have a similar story to report.
