John Lennon's killer denied parole again. Good.

[garybeck]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/10/10/chapman.parole.ap/index.html

Lennon's killer denied parole for fourth time

ATTICA, New York (AP) -- John Lennon's killer was denied parole for a fourth time Tuesday because of the "bizarre nature" of his crime.

Mark David Chapman, 51, must remain at Attica Correctional Facility for at least two more years for gunning down the former Beatle outside his Manhattan apartment building in 1980.

"The panel remains concerned about the bizarre nature of this premeditated and violent crime," the board wrote in a one-page decision issued shortly after Chapman's appearance before the three-member panel at Attica.

The hearing lasted 16 minutes, said Scott Steinhardt, spokesman for the state Division of Parole. A transcript of the hearing was not immediately available.

"While the panel notes your satisfactory institutional adjustment," the decision said, "due to the extremely violent nature of the offense, your release would not be in the best interest of the community."

The decision came one day after what would have been Lennon's 66th birthday.

Chapman has been in prison for 25 years. He became eligible for release after serving 20 years of a maximum life sentence.

His next appearance before the parole board will be in October 2008.

-----------------

I'm a pacifist. I'm an empathizer. But I hope this guy rots in jail.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

1. My spider sense says

Many a right-winger is disappointed by this news.

[wicket]

2. He deserves to stay there for life

n/t

[Hav]

3. .

One can't really have sympathy for the guy...

[Ishoutandscream2]

4. Amen. Let the bastard rot in jail.

It's been 26 years, and I'm still not over it. It was such a senseless, sickening event. I felt like I lost a loved one on that evening. And the hardest part is wondering why it had to happen in the first place.

Mark, I hope instant karma is going to get ya.

[garybeck]

6. I still remember it like it was yesterday....

i was in high school, up late listening to the radio. I think it was a West Coast baseball game which, with the time zone, made it a late night for me on the East Coast.. My parents were asleep and they thought I was too. They came on the radio and made the announcment. I went storming into my parents room and woke them up. Still gets me, just thinking about it.

[MrModerate]

5. Agreed. Some people should be locked up forever . . .

And for me at least, such a punishment is much scarier than execution. Not to mention morally defensible, cost-effective, and practicable.

Sometimes people's acts disqualify them from participating in any "paying your debt to society" sort of program and should simply be kept away from the rest of us until they die. Murderers generally qualify, IMO.

[bluestateguy]

7. There will never be another Beatles reunion because of him

And I blame him for that, at least until George Harrison died.

One of my friends who opposes the death penalty says the only exception he would ever make would be for Chapman, not bin Laden, not John Wayne Gacy or Ted Bundy, but Mark David Chapman only.

[jimshoes]

8. Good...

besides, he's probably safer where he is.

[BurtWorm]

9. He's lucky he's in prison.

Really. There's probably a very long line of people who would personally like to kill him.

[garybeck]

14. do you think that's what John would want? n/t

[madmusic]

17. That was my question. Would John want to let him out?

Something says, "Yes."

[garybeck]

19. me thinks

he would not want him out.

when there are transgressions in the world, John was one to point them out and advocate for people to be brought to justice. But I don't think he would want the guy to walk the streets so someone else could "off" him. Life in prison is the best justice we can offer.

I am a liberal but I don't think murderers should be walking the streets 20 years after they kill. I've watched enough CourtTV to know that many killers who kill "in the heat of passion" (as opposed to premeditated) get 10 years and then they're walking. That bothers me and I don't think this guy should walk the streets ever again. the fact that he claims to be an evangelical christian now scares me even more.

[BurtWorm]

21. I'm not sure about that.

It's a real consideration that Chapman probably isn't safe if he's let out. It could almost be like a death sentence.

[BurtWorm]

20. Of course not.

(I didn't say I was in the line, for the record. ;) )

[ShaneGR]

10. What kind of treatment has he received? What has he done in prison since

I always get this picture in my head when I hear about people who have been in prison for 20+ years getting denied parole. From Shawshank Redemption, when Morgan Freemans character says "I wish I could talk to that young man, tell him he's wrong. But I can't." I don't get the "lock em up and throw away the key" mentality. I don't think John Lennon would either.

[elocs]

11. Chapman has refused all therapy since he has been in prison.

He claims to have become an evangelical Christian. Surprise, surprise! It is cases like Chapman which do put our liberal beliefs to the test. It is one thing if Chapman had killed a nameless to most of us John Doe. But what if John Doe was our son, our father, our friend, our revered and loved public person? The truth is that Chapman, for what he has done, for what he is and for what he remains, should stay in prison regardless of who he had killed. Prison should be to separate people who have committed crimes from society for the protection of society. Society needs protection from Mark David Chapman.

I grew up a great Beatles fan and they changed my life. The murder of John Lennon was one of the moments for my generation where you remember where you were when you heard the new, just like with JFK. It was a horrible loss, but I have come to view it a little differently. John's candle went out at a time when he was happy, when his music was coming back, and he was comfortable with who he was and could walk the streets of New York more like a regular person as opposed to an ex-Beatle. I like to contrast that with an overweight Elvis who died on the toilet, whose music career was also in the toilet, who did not seem to be happy, and who was isolated and insulated from people. They both died at a similar age, but John Lennon's life was punctuated with meaning at its end, while the end of Elvis only emphasized how pathetic he had become and was only a shell of his former greatness. At the end of my life I would rather be like John than like Elvis.

[garybeck]

15. you are certainly a "glass is half full" person

all those things you say about Elvis are true. However, consider the personality of Lennon. He never would have gone that direction, I don't believe. He would have done great things in his later years. His music was political. Elvis' wasn't. He would have changed people's minds, opened minds, and done many good things that affect our world, beyond making pleasurable sounding music. It's hard for me to think of a greater loss.

[elocs]

16. I was simply comparing the way they were at the time of their deaths.

You have confirmed my belief that if there is any way that anybody will take something posted the wrong way, it will be here at DU. Congratulations. Thankfully, there are over 95,000 people registered here so there are some that will allow a simple observation or opinion to pass without being criticized or over analyzed. Well, there's another X.

[garybeck]

18. I agree with you my friend.

I completely agree that it helps to see that John was at a happy time in his life when he died. I didn't mean to come off as antagonistic. I just have a hard time seeing anything happy about the death of a great leader who could/would have done some great things if he lived longer. I agree it's good for him that he died at that time. but it's not so good for us who have to live in a world without him. but his spirit lives on, and it resides in others still walking with us.

peace.

[shadowknows69]

12. I have an uncle who is a guard at Attica

or used to be, not sure if he's retired or not by now. I used to ask him to say hello to MDC for me when he saw him. Preferably with a night stick upside the head.

[Beelzebud]

13. Good. That fucker should never see the light of day...