Chapman Ashamed He Killed Lennon

In failed bid for release, gunman says he had been in search of fame
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 20, 2008 11:27 AM CDT
Chapman Ashamed He Killed Lennon
This 1975 file photo shows Mark David Chapman as a member of a YMCA group. Chapman, convicted of shooting John Lennon in 1980, was denied parole for the fifth time Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008.    (AP Photo)

Mark David Chapman told the parole board that he is ashamed of killing John Lennon, according to transcripts of the hearing released yesterday. "I feel now at 53 I have grown into a deeper understanding of what a human life is. I have changed a lot," he said in his failed bid, the AP reports.

Chapman also said that he had been looking for fame when he killed the former Beatle. "I would be something other than a nobody, and that was my reasoning at the time," he said. In denying parole for the fifth time, officials cited “concern for the public safety and welfare." (More Mark David Chapman stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X