The man who shot John Lennon is today making his second bid for early release.
Mark David Chapman is having his case for parole heard on the day before what would have been the former Beatle's 62nd birthday.
The 47-year-old, who is serving 20 years to life in Attica prison near New York, had his first appeal for parole turned down two years ago.
The result of the new hearing, which is to be held behind closed doors, will not be released until next Monday, a prison spokeswoman said.
Chapman gunned down Lennon outside his Manhattan apartment building in December 1980 as the rock star and his wife Yoko Ono were returning from an evening recording session. Chapman said he had heard voices in his head telling him to kill the rock star.
The New York State Parole Board said at the last hearing that releasing Chapman early would "deprecate the seriousness of the crime and serve to undermine respect for the law".
PA