| Mark David Chapman |
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Mark David Chapman (born May 10 , 1955 in Fort Worth , Texas ) is the man convicted of the Murder of former Beatle John Lennon in 1980 . EARLY LIFE Chapman had, during previous points in his life, been involved in various lifestyles; he had been Addicted To Drugs , became a Born-again Christian , and also 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 an American-Japanese woman because she reminded him of Lennon's wife Yoko Ono (as of 2005, they were still married). As Chapman's life deteriorated, he began to resent his former hero, condemning him as a "phony" (Caulfield'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 '' The Catcher In The Rye '' with him at the time. 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 Lennon's housekeeper who had just taken 5 year-old . 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 severe so they opted 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 was arrested without incident, having sat down on the sidewalk after firing his shots. TESTIMONY AND SENTENCING He has 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 has 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 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 separated completely from other prisoners because of concerns for his safety. He is an avid letter-writer and evangelical Christian. Chapman has refused to undergo therapy of any kind while 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 2000 , 2002 , and October 2004 . There is at least one active church group which petitions to have him released. Prior to his parole hearings several reports were made of threats to his life, should he 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, installed and influenced by former president Richard Nixon and FBI Chief J. Edgar Hoover , saw Lennon as a "threat of the worst kind" and labelled him a "dangerous radical that needed 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 assasination. He pays attention to the fact that Chapman stopped off in Chicago for two days before he flew on to New York, but has never explained what he did there, and actually denies he was there at all. FURTHER READING
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