Mark David Chapman

Mark David Chapman (born May 10, 1955 in Fort Worth, Texas) is the man who assassinated former Beatle John Lennon on December 8, 1980.

Early life

Chapman had, during previous points in his life, been involved in various lifestyles; he had been addicted to drugs and was hospitalized for mental illness. At one time, he attended Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. He viewed J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye as having great personal significance for him, to the extent that he reportedly wished to model his life after the book's antisocial protagonist, Holden Caulfield.

Suspected obsession

Chapman said that he had been a fan of the Beatles, and Lennon in particular, for years, although his ex-girlfriend, wife and friends said later that if he was, they never knew about it. They always thought that he was a fan of Todd Rundgren, rather than the Beatles.

During his nervous breakdown, Chapman became obsessed with Lennon to such a degree that he married a Japanese-American woman because she reminded him of Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono. As Chapman's life deteriorated, he began to resent his former hero, condemning him as a "phony" (Holden Caufield's favorite insult).

Murder of John Lennon

At 10:50 p.m. on December 8, 1980, Chapman shot, and fatally wounded, John Lennon in front of Lennon's residence, The Dakota, at the corner of West 72nd Street and Central Park West in Manhattan, New York City. Chapman was carrying a copy of Double Fantasy with him at the time that John Lennon had signed earlier that night.

Chapman spent most of the day near the entrance to the Dakota; talking to other fans and the doorman. Late in the morning, Chapman met the Lennons' housekeeper who had just taken the five-year-old Sean Lennon for a walk. Chapman conversed with the housekeeper and patted Sean on the head as they departed.

Around 4:00 p.m., John and Yoko left The Dakota for a recording session at the Record Plant Studio. As they walked towards their limousine on the curb, Chapman shook hands with Lennon and held out a copy of Lennon's new album Double Fantasy for him to sign - and Lennon did. An amateur/fan photographer was present when Lennon signed Chapman's album, and also took a photo of the event. This would be the last photo taken of Lennon while he was alive. After the Lennons left, Chapman continued to wait near the Dakota.

Around 10:50 p.m., the Lennons' limousine returned to the Dakota. As John and Yoko passed by, and entered the archway entrance of the building's courtyard, Chapman dropped into a military firing stance and called out, "Mr. Lennon!" As Lennon turned to see who had called his name, Chapman shot him five times with hollow point rounds from a Charter Arms .38 revolver he had purchased in Hawaii. Chapman's five shots inflicted four wounds. One of the bullets fatally pierced Lennon's aorta causing severe blood loss.

The NYPD officers who first responded to the shooting realized Lennon's wounds were so severe they decided to transport him in their police car to Roosevelt Hospital.

Lennon was declared dead at 11:15 p.m. after losing more than eighty percent of his blood. Chapman sat down on the sidewalk after firing his shots and was arrested without incident.

Testimony and sentencing

At trial, Chapman testified that he had also traveled to New York once previously with the intention of killing Lennon, but did not carry out the act. He also stated that his actions were taken as a means to get attention as he had come to view himself as a "nobody."

Chapman was charged with second degree murder and was found competent to stand trial. It was expected that he would plead insanity; instead, he lodged a guilty plea. He originally wanted a plea of insanity to be entered - on the advice of his lawyers - but then changed his plea after "the little voices inside my head told me to plead guilty".

He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

Life in Attica

He is currently imprisoned at Attica State Prison, near Buffalo, in Western New York. For years, he had to be completely separated from other prisoners because of concerns for his safety. He is an avid letter-writer and claims to be an evangelical Christian, though this claim is viewed with skepticism by many Christians, as murderers frequently claim to have reformed for the benefit of their parole board hearings. Chapman has refused to undergo therapy of any kind whilst in prison; claiming to have been healed of severe depression by virtue of his fervent Christian beliefs. He has been denied parole three times, in October 2000, 2002, and 2004. He receives hate mail from around the world on a daily basis, and prior to his parole-hearings there were reports of threats to his life, should he ever be released.

Film proposal

Currently there are plans to turn Chapman's experiences during the weekend on which he committed the crime into a feature-length movie called Chapter 27. Actor Jared Leto is set to star as Chapman along with Lindsay Lohan as a fan of Lennon who befriends him. This plan has been met with criticism from those Lennon fans who claim that this type of exposure would serve to grant Chapman the attention he has stated as one of the goals of his action.

Government conspiracies

According to John-Lennon.com, United States anti-extremist movements, which were started and influenced by former president Richard Nixon and FBI Chief J. Edgar Hoover, saw Lennon as a "threat of the worst kind", and labeled him as a "dangerous radical that needs to be stopped". Fenton Bresler, in his book, "Who Killed John Lennon" addresses this theory and argues that Chapman was a CIA killing tool who was programmed to carry out the assassination. He draws attention to the fact that Chapman stopped off in Chicago for two days before he flew on to New York - which was explained by his flight/ticket records - but has never explained what he did there, and still denies that he was there at all. He said that he had an aunt in Chicago, but this was proven to be false.

In Popular Culture

Indie band …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead released a song entitled "Mark David Chapman" in their 1999 album Madonna.
In their 1996 album, To the Faithful Departed, Irish band The Cranberries feature a song entitled "I Just Shot John Lennon".
Marilyn Manson recorded a song inspired by John Lennon's death entitled "Lamb of God" in his Holy Wood album. The album itself is focused on America's celebrity culture, its obsession on guns and its fascination with death and the fame that a violent death can bring.
During their Elevation Tour, U2 would change the lyrics of the song "Bullet the Blue Sky" to reflect the death of John Lennon.
Richie Sambora, guitarist for Bon Jovi stated in the song "Made In America" from the 1998 album Undiscovered Soul: "I woke up when Lennon found the wrong end of a gun..."
The Rebel Spell, a Canadian anarcho-punk band recorded a song called "December 8th, 1980". The song refers to the theory that Lennon was killed because he was a threat, and Chapman was a tool for the CIA.
The emocore band Texas Is the Reason released their first and only full-length album under the name Do You Know Who You Are?, supposedly the last words Lennon heard before his death.

External links

Article on Mark Chapman which argues that he killed for fame (BBC)
A Crime Library article on Mark David Chapman, by Fred McGunagle
Lyrics to "December 8th 1980" by The Rebel Spell

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