Mark David Chapman, 53, who is serving 20 years to life in prison for killing Lennon in 1980, will remain behind bars for at least two more years, the New York State Division of Parole said Tuesday in a statement.
Lennon's killer, still in prison 27 years after his arrest, requested parole but was denied "due to concern for the public safety and welfare," as his release "would not be in the best interest of the community," the parole board members said.
Chapman shot Lennon four times outside his Manhattan apartment building in New York City on December 8, 1980, in the presence of Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono, and others. Lennon had signed a copy of his comeback album Double Fantasy for Chapman earlier that night.
The murderer was turned down for parole in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. However, he can apply for parole again in 2010.
Lennon's widow, who has personally requested that Chapman be denied parole, said he would be safer in jail. "It's dangerous for him to come out," Ono told the New York Daily News. "Not only for us, but for himself."
