Mark David Chapman

Mark David Chapman (born May 10, 1955) is an American prisoner who murdered John Lennon on December 8, 1980, in New York City. Chapman shot at Lennon four times in the back, outside The Dakota apartment building, in the presence of Lennon's wife Yoko Ono and others. Chapman remained at the scene until arrested by police. A scheduled jury trial did not go ahead because Chapman changed his plea from not guilty by reason of insanity to guilty of second degree murder, against the advice of his lawyer. He had been assessed as delusional and possibly psychotic, and the defense team argued that Chapman was not competent to make the decision. However, Chapman was sentenced to a prison term of 20 years to life and remains incarcerated at Attica State Prison in New York, having been denied parole five times. His applications for parole have been opposed by Yoko Ono, as well as by an online grassroots public campaign. Chapman has been widely associated with the book The Catcher in the Rye, which he carried with him at the time and claimed would explain his perspective. Various specific motivations have also been suggested.