Music1 min(s) read
Published 14:37 22 Sep 2020 GMT
Mark David Chapman, the assassin of John Lennon, has apologized to the musician's late widow Yoko Ono for murdering the legendary Beatles star.
Obtained by ABC News, a transcript of one of the convicted killer's parole hearings last month saw Chapman denied parole for the 11th time.
During the hearing, Chapman claimed that he shot Lennon for "glory".
The world was left in shock on the day Chapman gunned down John Lennon:
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According to this transcript, Chapman stated to the parole board:
"I just want [Yoko] to know that she knows her husband like no one else and knows the kind of man he was. I didn't. I just judged him from a book and I murdered him. He was in a book. He was extremely famous."
"I didn't kill him because of his character or the kind of man he was. He was a family man. He was an icon. He was someone that spoke of things that now we can speak of and it's great."
Chapman added:
"I assassinated him ... because he was very, very, very famous and that's the only reason and I was very, very, very, very much seeking self-glory, very selfish. I want to add that and emphasize that greatly. It was an extremely selfish act.
"I'm sorry for the pain that I caused to her."
However, despite Chapman's contrition, the transcript reveals that officials chose to deny Chapman's release because it would be "incompatible with the welfare of society".
Chapman, an obsessive fan of the Beatles and their music, became fixated on Lennon and obsessed with the J.D. Salinger book The Catcher In The Rye, identifying closely with the protagonist Holden Caulfield.
He shot and killed Lennon outside his Manhattan apartment on December 8, 1980.
As a result, Chapman was arrested and, ignoring his attorney's advice to opt for the insanity defense, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.
