Mark David Chapman | |
|---|---|
 Chapman's 1980 mugshot | |
| Born | (1955-05-10)May 10, 1955 (age 70) Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. |
| Known for | Murder of John Lennon |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Spouse | [3][4] |
| Motive | Personal resentment againstJohn Lennon and a desire to emulateHolden Caulfield[1][2] |
| Conviction | Second-degree murder |
| Criminal penalty | 20 years tolife imprisonment |
| Imprisoned at | Green Haven Correctional Facility, New York, U.S. |
Mark David Chapman (born May 10, 1955) is an American man whomurdered musicianJohn Lennon inNew York City on December 8, 1980. As Lennon walked into the archway of theDakota, his apartment building on theUpper West Side, Chapman fired five shots at him from a few yards away with aCharter Arms Undercover.38 Specialrevolver; Lennon was hit four times from the back. He was rushed toRoosevelt Hospital and pronounced dead on arrival. Chapman remained at the scene following the shooting and made no attempt to flee or resist arrest.
Raised inDecatur, Georgia, Chapman was initially a fan ofthe Beatles but was infuriated by Lennon's lavish lifestyle, the lyrics of "God" and "Imagine", and public statements such as his remark about the band being "more popular than Jesus". In the years leading up to the murder, theJ. D. Salinger novelThe Catcher in the Rye took on great personal significance for Chapman, to the extent that he wished to model his life after the novel's protagonist,Holden Caulfield. Chapman also contemplated killing other public figures, includingDavid Bowie,[5]Johnny Carson,Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,Elizabeth Taylor,[6]Paul McCartney, andRonald Reagan.[7] He had no prior criminal convictions and had recently resigned from a job as a security guard inHawaii.
Chapman's legal team initially intended to mount aninsanity defense based on the testimony of mental health experts who said that he was in a delusionalpsychotic state at the time of the shooting. However, he was more cooperative with theprosecutor, who argued that his symptoms fell short of aschizophrenia diagnosis. As the trial approached, Chapman instructed his lawyers that he wanted to plead guilty to murder based on what he had decided was thewill of God. The judge granted Chapman's request and deemed him competent to stand trial. He was sentenced to a prison term of 20 years tolife with a stipulation that mental health treatment would be provided.
Chapman refused requests for press interviews during his first six years in prison; he later said that he regretted the murder and that he did not want to give the impression that he killed Lennon for fame and notoriety. He ultimately supplied audiotaped interviews to journalist Jack Jones, who used them to write the investigative bookLet Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman in 1992. In 2000, Chapman became eligible forparole, which has since been denied 14 times.
Chapman was born on May 10, 1955, inFort Worth, Texas.[3] His father, David Chapman, was astaff sergeant in theUnited States Air Force and his mother, Diane (née Pease), was anurse. His younger sister, Susan, was born seven years later. As a boy, Chapman stated he lived in fear of his father, who he claimed wasphysically abusive towards his mother and unloving towards him. Chapman began to fantasize about having God-like power over a group of imaginary "little people" who lived in the walls of his bedroom.
Chapman moved toDecatur, Georgia, at an early age and attendedColumbia High School. He later recalled being targeted by bullies due to his lack of athleticism. By the time he was 14, Chapman was using drugs andskipping classes, and at one pointran away from home to live on the streets ofMiami for two weeks.[8]
In 1971, Chapman became aborn-againPresbyterian and distributedBiblical tracts. He met his first girlfriend, Jessica Blankenship, and began work as a summer camp counselor at theYMCA inDeKalb County, Georgia. He was immensely popular with the children at the camp, who nicknamed him "Nemo" (after the protagonist of theJules Verne novelTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas), and he was promoted to assistant director after winning an award for Outstanding Counselor.[9] Those who knew Chapman in the caretaking professions said he was an outstanding worker.[10]
On the recommendation of a friend, Chapman readJ. D. Salinger's novelThe Catcher in the Rye (1951). The novel eventually took on great personal significance for him, to the extent he reportedly wished to model his life after its main character,Holden Caulfield.[11] After graduating from high school, Chapman moved for a time toChicago and played guitar in churches and Christian night spots while his friend Micheal McFarland did impersonations. After his stint in Chicago, Chapman worked successfully forWorld Vision with Vietnamese refugees at a resettlement camp atFort Chaffee inArkansas, after a brief visit toLebanon for the same work. He was named an area coordinator and a key aide to program director David Moore, who later said Chapman cared deeply for children and worked hard. Chapman accompanied Moore to meetings with government officials, andU.S. presidentGerald Ford shook his hand.
Chapman joined Blankenship as a student atCovenant College, a Presbyterianliberal arts college inLookout Mountain, Georgia. However, he fell behind in his studies and became racked with guilt over having a previous affair.[12][13] He started havingsuicidal thoughts and began to feel like a failure. He dropped out of Covenant College after just one semester, and his girlfriend broke off their relationship soon after. Chapman returned to work at the resettlement camp but left after an argument with a supervisor.
In 1977, Chapman—spending the last of his savings—impulsively relocated toHawaii, where he attempted suicide bycarbon monoxide asphyxiation. He connected a hose to his car's exhaust pipe, but the hose melted and the attempt failed. Apsychiatrist admitted Chapman to Castle Memorial Hospital forclinical depression. Upon his release, he began working at the hospital as a maintenance worker.[14] After Chapman's parents began divorce proceedings, his mother joined him in Hawaii.[13]
In 1978, Chapman embarked on a six-week trip around the world. The vacation was partly inspired by the film and novelAround the World in 80 Days. Using his YMCA connections for free or discounted accommodations, Chapman visitedTokyo,Seoul,Hong Kong,Singapore,Bangkok,New Delhi,Beirut,Geneva,London,Paris andDublin. The trip concluded with a brief visit toAtlanta to visit his family. He also began a romantic relationship with histravel agent, aJapanese American woman named Gloria Abe, whom he married on June 2, 1979. Chapman got a job at Castle Memorial Hospital as a printer, working alone rather than with staff and patients. He was fired by the hospital but was later rehired but resigned after an argument with a nurse. After this, Chapman took a job as a nightsecurity guard at a high-end apartment complex and begandrinking heavily to cope with depression.[14]
As his psychological state worsened, Chapman developed a series of obsessions, including artwork,The Catcher in the Rye, and the English musicianJohn Lennon. In September 1980 he wrote a letter to a friend, Lynda Irish, in which he stated, "I'm going nuts." He signed the letter, "The Catcher in the Rye."[15] Chapman had no criminal convictions prior to his trip to New York City to kill Lennon.[16]
Chapman reportedly started planning to kill Lennon three months prior to the murder. A longtime fan of Lennon's former bandthe Beatles, Chapman turned against Lennon due to areligious conversion and Lennon's highly publicized 1966 remark about the Beatles being "more popular than Jesus."[17] Some members of Chapman's prayer group made a joke in reference to Lennon's song "Imagine": "It went, 'Imagine, imagine if John Lennon was dead.'"[13] One of Chapman's childhood friends, Miles McManushe, recalled that Chapman said that the song was "communist."[17]
Chapman had also been influenced byAnthony Fawcett'sJohn Lennon: One Day at a Time, which detailed Lennon's lavish lifestyle inNew York City. According to Gloria, "He was angry that Lennon would preach love and peace but yet have millions." Chapman later said: "He told us to imagine no possessions and there he was, with millions of dollars and yachts and farms and country estates, laughing at people like me who had believed the lies and bought the records and built a big part of their lives around his music."[2] He also recalled having listened to Lennon's solo albums in the weeks before the murder:[18]
I would listen to this music and I would get angry at him, for saying [in the song "God"] that he didn't believe in God, that he just believed in him and Yoko, and that he didn't believe in the Beatles. This was another thing that angered me, even though this record had been done at least ten years previously. I just wanted to scream out loud, "Who does he think he is, saying these things about God and heaven and the Beatles?" Saying that he doesn't believe in Jesus and things like that. At that point, my mind was going through a total blackness of anger and rage. So I brought the Lennon book home, into thisThe Catcher in the Rye milieu where my mindset is Holden Caulfield and anti-phoniness.[19]
Chapman's planning has been described as "muddled."[20] Over the years, he has both supported and denied whether he felt justified by his spiritual beliefs at the time or had the intention of acquiring notoriety.[1] The only time he made a public statement before his sentencing—and for several years afterward—was during a briefpsychotic episode in which he was convinced that the meaning of his actions was to promoteThe Catcher in the Rye, which amounted to a single letter mailed toThe New York Times asking the public to read the novel.[1]
JournalistJames R. Gaines, who interviewed Chapman extensively, concluded that Chapman did not kill Lennon to gain fame and notoriety.[1] According to Chapman in a laterparole hearing, he had a hit list of other potential targets in mind, including Lennon's bandmatePaul McCartney, talk show hostJohnny Carson, actressElizabeth Taylor, actorGeorge C. Scott, former first ladyJacqueline Kennedy Onassis, recently elected U.S. PresidentRonald Reagan andHawaii governorGeorge Ariyoshi. In 2010, Chapman said that the only criterion for the list was being "famous," and that he chose Lennon out of convenience.[21] He had also cited feelings ofenvy.[22]
It is rumored that Chapman traveled toWoodstock,New York, during one of his visits to the state in search of the musicianTodd Rundgren, another target of obsession. Chapman was wearing a promotional T-shirt for Rundgren's albumHermit of Mink Hollow when he was arrested and had a copy ofRunt: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren in hisManhattan hotel room. Rundgren was not aware of the connections until much later.[23]
On the day of the murder, singerDavid Bowie was appearing onBroadway in the playThe Elephant Man. "I was second on his list," Bowie later said. "Chapman had a front-row ticket toThe Elephant Man the next night. John and Yoko were supposed to sit front-row for that show too. So the night after John was killed there were three empty seats in the front row. I can't tell you how difficult that was to go on. I almost didn't make it through the performance."[24]
Chapman went to New York City in late October 1980 intending to kill Lennon, but left to obtain ammunition from his unwitting friend Dana Reeves in Atlanta before returning in November.[15] While in New York, Chapman was inspired by the filmOrdinary People to stop his plans. He returned to Hawaii and told his wife Gloria that he had been obsessed with killing Lennon, showing her the gun and bullets; Gloria did not inform the police or mental health services.[13] Chapman later said that the commandment "thou shalt not kill" flashed on the television at him and was on a wall hanging that his wife put up in their apartment.[2] He made an appointment to see a clinical psychologist, but he did not keep it and flew back to New York on December 6, 1980.[13] At one point, he considered ending his life by jumping from theStatue of Liberty.[25]
On December 7, Chapman accosted singerJames Taylor at the72nd Street subway station. According to Taylor, "The guy had sort of pinned me to the wall and was glistening with maniacal sweat and talking some freak speak about what he was going to do and his stuff with how John was interested and he was going to get in touch with John Lennon."[26] He also reportedly offered cocaine to a taxi driver.[13] That night, Chapman and his wife talked on the phone about getting help with his problems by first working on his relationship with God.[2]
On the morning of December 8, Chapman left his room at theSheraton Hotel, leaving personal items behind that he wanted the police to find. He bought a copy ofThe Catcher in the Rye in which he wrote "this is my statement", signing it "Holden Caulfield." He then spent most of the day near the entrance tothe Dakota apartment building where Lennon lived, talking to fans and thedoorman. Early in the morning, Chapman was distracted and missed seeing Lennon step out of a taxi and enter the Dakota."[27] Later in the morning, he met Lennon's housekeeper, who was returning from a walk with Lennon's five-year-old sonSean. Chapman reached in front of the housekeeper to shake Sean's hand and called him a beautiful boy, quoting Lennon's song "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy).[citation needed]
Around 5 p.m., Lennon and his wifeYoko Ono were leaving the Dakota for a recording session at theRecord Plant. As they walked toward their limousine, Chapman, without saying a word, held out a copy of Lennon's albumDouble Fantasy (1980) for Lennon to sign.[28] Amateur photographer Paul Goresh was standing nearby and took a picture as Lennon signed the album.[29] Chapman said in an interview that he tried to get Goresh to stay, and he asked anotherloitering Lennon fan, Jude Stein,[30] to go on a date with him that night. In 1992, Chapman suggested that he would not have murdered Lennon that night if Stein had accepted his invitation or if Goresh had stayed, but he would have returned to the Dakota the following day.[27]
Around 10:50 p.m., Lennon and Ono returned to the Dakota in a limousine. Yoko got out of the vehicle first, passed Chapman, and walked toward the archway entrance of the building. Lennon exited the limousine and walked past him. From the sidewalk behind them, Chapman fired fivehollow-point bullets from a.38 specialrevolver, four of which hit Lennon in the back and shoulder. One newspaper later reported that Chapman called out "Mr. Lennon" and dropped into acombat stance before firing.[31] Chapman said that he does not recall saying anything, and Lennon did not turn around.[32]
Chapman remained at the scene following the shooting and appeared to be readingThe Catcher in the Rye whenNew York City police officers arrived and arrested him without incident. The officers recognized that Lennon's wounds were severe and decided not to wait for anambulance; they rushed him toRoosevelt Hospital in a squad car. Lennon was pronounceddead on arrival. Three hours later, Chapman told the police, "I'm sure the big part of me is Holden Caulfield, who is the main person in the book. The small part of me must be the Devil."[33]
Chapman was formally charged withsecond-degree murder, the most serious murder charge in New York State law for killing a non-law officer. He confessed to police that he had used hollow-point bullets "to ensure Lennon's death."[34] Chapman's wife had known of her husband's preparations for killing Lennon, but took no action because Chapman did not follow through at the time; she did not face any charges.[35] Chapman later said that he harbored a "deep-seated resentment" toward his wife, "that she didn't go to somebody, even the police, and say, 'Look, my husband's bought a gun and he says he's going to kill John Lennon.'"[36]
More than a dozen psychologists and psychiatrists interviewed Chapman in the six months prior to his trial—three for theprosecution, six for thedefense, and several more on behalf of the court—and they conducted a battery of standard diagnostic procedures and more than 200 hours of clinical interviews. All six defense experts concluded that Chapman waspsychotic; five diagnosedparanoid schizophrenia, while the sixth felt that his symptoms were more consistent withmanic depression. The three prosecution experts declared that his delusions fell short of psychosis and instead diagnosed variouspersonality disorders. The court-appointed experts concurred with the prosecution's examiners that he was delusional yet competent to stand trial. In the examinations, Chapman was more cooperative with the prosecution's mental health experts than with those for the defense; one psychiatrist conjectured that he did not wish to be considered "crazy" and was persuaded that the defense experts declared him insane only because they were hired to do so.[1]
Charles McGowan, who had been the pastor of Chapman's church in Decatur, visited Chapman. "I believe there was a demonic power at work," he said. Chapman initially embraced his old religion with new fervor as a result; but McGowan revealed information to the press that Chapman had told him in confidence, so Chapman disavowed his renewed interest in Christianity and reverted to his initial explanation: he had killed Lennon to promote the reading ofThe Catcher in the Rye.[1]
Chapman's court-appointed lawyer, Herbert Adlerberg, withdrew from the case amid threats oflynching. Police feared that Lennon fans might storm the hospital, so they transferred Chapman toRikers Island for his personal safety.[37]
At the initial hearing in January 1981, Chapman's new lawyer, Jonathan Marks, instructed him to enter a plea ofnot guilty by reason of insanity. In February, Chapman sent a handwritten statement toThe New York Times urging everyone to readThe Catcher in the Rye, calling it an "extraordinary book that holds many answers."[38] The defense team sought to establish witnesses as to Chapman's mental state at the time of the killing.[39] However, Chapman told Marks in June that he wanted to drop the insanity defense and plead guilty. Marks objected with "serious questions" over Chapman's sanity and legally challenged his competence to make this decision. In the pursuant hearing on June 22, Chapman said thatGod had told him to plead guilty and that he would never change his plea or everappeal, regardless of his sentence. Marks told the court that he opposed Chapman's change of plea, but Chapman would not listen to him. JudgeDennis Edwards Jr. refused a further assessment, saying that Chapman had made the decision of his own free will, and declared himcompetent to stand trial.[10][40][41]
The sentencing hearing took place on August 24, 1981, in a crowded courtroom. Two experts gave evidence on Chapman's behalf. Judge Edwards interruptedDorothy Lewis, a research psychiatrist who was relatively inexperienced in the courtroom, indicating that the purpose of the hearing was to determine the sentence and there was no question of Chapman's criminal responsibility. Lewis had maintained that Chapman's decision to change his plea did not appear reasonable or explicable, and she implied that the judge did not want to allow an independent competency assessment.[42] The district attorney argued that Chapman committed the murder as an easy venture to acquire fame. Chapman was asked if he had anything to say, and he rose and read a passage fromThe Catcher in the Rye in which Holden tells his little sister Phoebe what he wants to do with his life:
I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around – nobody big, I mean – except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff – I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all.
The judge ordered psychiatric treatment for Chapman during his incarceration and sentenced him to 20 years tolife, five years less than the maximum sentence of 25 years to life.[43]
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In 1981, Chapman was imprisoned atAttica Correctional Facility outsideBuffalo, New York. Hefasted for twenty-six days in February 1982, so theNew York State Supreme Court authorized the state to force-feed him.Central New York Psychiatric Center director Martin Von Holden said that Chapman refused to eat with other inmates but agreed to take liquid nutrients.[44] He was held in asolitary confinement unit for violent and at-risk prisoners, in part due to concern that he might be harmed by Lennon's fans in the general population. There were 105 inmates in the facility who were "not considered a threat to him," according to the New York State Department of Correctional Services. He had his own cell but spent "most of his day outside his cell working on housekeeping and in the library."[45]
Chapman worked in the prison as alegal clerk andkitchen helper. He was barred from participating in the Cephas Attica workshops, a charitable organization helping inmates adjust to life outside prison. He was also prohibited from attending the prison's violence andanger management classes due to concern for his safety. He told a parole board in 2000 what he would do if paroled: "I would immediately try to find a job, and I really want to go from place to place, at least in the state, church to church, and tell people what happened to me and point them the way to Christ." He also said that he thought that he could find work as afarmhand or return to his previous trade as a printer.[46]
Chapman is in the Family Reunion Program, and has been allowed regularconjugal visits since 2014 with his wife since he accepted solitary confinement. The program allows him to spend 44 hours alone with his wife in a specially built prison home, a trailer on prison grounds equipped with a kitchen, bathroom, and a bedroom.[47] He also gets occasional visits from his sister, clergy, and a few friends. In 2004, Department of Correctional Services spokesman James Flateau said that Chapman had been involved in three "minor incidents" between 1989 and 1994 which included delaying an inmate count and refusing to follow an order.[48] On May 15, 2012, he was transferred to theWende Correctional Facility inAlden, New York, which is east of Buffalo.[49] On March 30, 2022, he was transferred to theGreen Haven Correctional Facility inBeekman, New York, which is inDutchess County.[50]
Chapman declined all offers for interviews following the murder and during his first six years at Attica, later stating that he did not want to give the impression that he killed Lennon as a route to acquire fame and notoriety.[33] Despite his claim that he refused all interviews during those six years, James R. Gaines interviewed him and wrote a three-part, 18,000-wordPeople magazine series starting in 1981 and climaxing in February and March 1987.[1][51][52] Chapman subsequently told the parole board that he regretted the interview.[46] He gave a series of audio-taped interviews to Jack Jones of theRochesterDemocrat and Chronicle, and Jones publishedLet Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman, the Man Who Killed John Lennon in 1992.[53] Jones asked Chapman to tell his story forMugshots, aCourtTV program in 2000, with his first parole hearing approaching. Chapman refused to go on camera but consented to tell his story in a series of audiotapes.[46]
On December 4, 1992,ABC's20/20 aired an interview withBarbara Walters, Chapman's first television interview.[54] On December 17, 1992,Larry King interviewed Chapman on hisCNN programLarry King Live.[55]
Chapman first became eligible forparole in 2000 after serving twenty years in prison. Under New York state law, he is required to have a parole hearing every two years from that year onward. Since that time, a two- or three-member board has denied Chapman parole 14 times. Before his first parole hearing, Yoko Ono sent a letter to the board requesting that Chapman should stay behind bars and serve out the remainder of his life sentence.[56][57] In addition,New York State SenatorMichael Nozzolio, chairman of the Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee, wrote to Parole Board Chairman Brion Travis saying: "It is the responsibility of the New York State Parole Board to ensure that public safety is protected from the release of dangerous criminals like Mark David Chapman."[58]
Two films center on Chapman and the murder:The Killing of John Lennon (2006), starring Jonas Ball as Chapman, focuses on Chapman's life up to the murder.[59]Chapter 27 (2007), starringJared Leto as Chapman, based on Jack Jones's bookLet Me Take You Down, attempts a nonjudgmental portrayal of Chapman.[60]
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