Lennon fans threaten his killer as release looms

[bluestateguy]

Mark Chapman, the man who murdered John Lennon, could be released from jail next month in a move that has sparked fears of retribution from Beatles fans.

Chapman will have a parole hearing in the week beginning 4 October, officials at the New York State Parole Division said. It will be held behind closed doors. However, one official said they had 'no idea' what the outcome of the hearing would be.

But if Chapman is released after 24 years in prison, some Lennon fans have already threatened to take action. News of the parole hearing has spread on the internet and dozens of websites have been filling up with messages from fans around the world, many already promising to take revenge on the man who gunned down Lennon on 8 December 1980 as he arrived at his New York apartment building off Central Park.

'Chapman should be executed. I would gladly get rid of him myself,' wrote a fan from Finland on one website. Another fan has already set up an online petition to have Chapman's parole denied. It is already full of messages that show Chapman's safety outside jail would be difficult to maintain. 'If Mark David Chapman is let out of jail, he wouldn't last a day. There are too many people who want him dead,' wrote a New York-based female fan.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1313030,00.html

[jpgray]

1. Rather against Lennon's philosophy to exact lethal revenge

:(

[coloradodem2005]

2. I agree.

Though for many of these people, all bets were off when he shot Lennon, who to them was a reigning symbol of hope. When he died that hope died. There are many who have not forgotten what they have lost on that dark day in 1980. I can only imagine, having been 1 year old at the time. But getting into the Beatles myself, I can comprehend some of it.

[ClassWarrior]

3. They lost hope when Lennon died??

Then these fucking fools didn't have it to begin with. And Lennon would be the first to tell them so.

[Voltaire99]

16. Well said

These fans are as pathological as Chapman. Lennon stood against such madness.

[genius]

4. Lennon was a peacenik. That's ridiculous.

Though it would be nice to find out if the Republicans put him up to it.

[Panda1]

5. He shouldn't be let out.

He should stay in jail for the rest of his life. He stole somebody very precious from us. No, he shouldn't be executed but he shouldn't be free after the horrible act he perpetrated against not only music fans but humanity. I'll never forget that night I heard the news. I cried then and I still miss John's brilliance...he had reached yet another level with "Double Fantasy" and had seemingly overcome or tamed many of his demons. He appeared to be happy at last.
And then this sick man destroyed it all. He robbed two boys of a father as well as from all the rest of us who loved him. Even if you loathe Yoko, you have to admit she made John happy and he loved her. She was robbed of her soul mate. Don't let him out. The thought of him roaming around free makes me feel ill. :puke:

[FredScuttle]

6. I'm totally opposed to this,

but, if he does get out, can we give him Paul McCartney's current home address?

[Borgnine]

8. Haha, geez. That's harsh but it made me laugh.

Sometimes I wonder if Paul really did die in the '60s.

[jpgray]

9. Paul is tainting his memory right now

But as a Beatle, he was a musical genius at least on par with Lennon.

[FredScuttle]

10. Yes, "Martha My Dear" was SO groundbreaking

Were it not for Lennon, Macca would have had his brief fling with weed and gone on to write warmed-over vaudeville and awful Cole Porter pastiches for the next 30 years. Oh wait....he did!

The best evidence I have of Macca's distinct lack of genius is this: WINGS

[jpgray]

11. Two Virgins, Wedding Album and Life with the Lions, anyone?

All lousy, horrible, awful albums. The measure of an artist isn't the worst crap he or she has done, it's the best moments that make the artist. Anyone who wrote songs like Paperback Writer, The Night Before, Hello Goodbye, Fixing a Hole, or Helter Skelter deserves much better treatment than you're giving out here.

[FredScuttle]

12. Sorry, but I'm a soldier for Lennon

I'll put John's solo work against Paul's oeuvre any day of the week.

I'm just perturbed by Paul's constant attempts at revisionism since John died. What he did to Let It Be was simply criminal

[jpgray]

13. I'm not looking to take Lennon down in any way

But I hate to see the good stuff Paul did get trashed because he writes mostly shit now.

[FredScuttle]

14. Fair enough

but when Paul says that he was the true "avant garde" Beatle, I want to vomit.

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. For post-Beatles work, I wonder if George Harrison beat them both

though I would say they produced more than double the number of 'great' songs under their joint attribution in The Beatles than he did.

[kodi]

7. dead pool bet. chapman lasts less than a year on the outside

people have been waiting for him for over 20 years. he's a dead man. he is safer in prision. just like sirhan sirhan.

[tritsofme]

15. 1980 was a BAD year

Not that I would ever condone such a thing....I can't say I'd be upset if it happened.

[izzie]

17. I thought he was in for life?

Should just keep him in jail. He had to have planned the thing.

[fujiyama]

18. Why the hell is he being released?

He should rot in prison for the rest of his life.

What the hell is wrong with the NY prison system? They can't keep murderers in prison but don't they have those Rockefellar drug laws?

Are too many non violent prisoners crowding prisons that murderers, rapists, child molestors, and other violent criminals are being released?

Of course why didn't they sentence him to life in the first place?

If we don't have the DP in effect for murder, the minimum should be life in prison without perole.

[Moderator]

20. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=864986