The man who killed John Lennon in 1980 has admitted he knew his actions were wrong, was seeking fame and had "evil in my heart" when he killed the Great Beatles.
Mark David Chapman commented in August that the parole board had rejected him for the 12th time and cited his "selfish attitude towards human life" as one of the reasons for keeping him in prison.
Chapman's comments were published in a transcript released Monday (Nov. 7) under a freedom of information request and reported by the Associated Press.
His decision to shoot the legendary singer was “my big answer to everything. I am no longer a nobody," he told the board.
"I can't blame anyone or anything for getting me there," he added. "I knew what I was doing and I knew it was bad, I knew it was wrong, but I wanted fame so much that I was willing to give it all and take a life."
Chapman fired multiple shots at Lennon on a December night. 8, 1980, British artist and his partner Yoko Ono return to their Upper West Side apartment. That same day, Lennon had Chapman autograph a vinyl copy of his recently released album. Double Fantasy.
Lennon died from his injuries. He was 40 years old.
The Liverpool singer, songwriter and peace activist won a posthumous Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1981, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1997 and was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 as a member of the Beatles. and in 1994 as a solo artist.
Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life at Green Haven Correctional Facility in upstate New York, according to state corrections records posted online. He is scheduled to appear before the parole board again in February 2024.
Re-entered the charts with the Fab Four gun, widely regarded as one of the greatest rock albums of all time. The collection, originally published in 1966, was reprinted in October. The new "special edition" at No. 28 is at No. 2 and No. 2 in the UK and Australian Recent Albums Charts. 4 on the Billboard 200.