Lennon killer to have new parole hearing

John Lennon's killer is to come up for parole for the second time in October.

John Lennon's killer is to come up for parole for the second time in October.

Mark David Chapman, who is serving 20 years to life in Attica prison near New York, had his appeal for early release turned down two years ago.

A new hearing will be held in the second week in October, a Parole Division spokesman said.

Chapman (47) gunned down Lennon outside his Manhattan apartment building in December 1980 as the ex-Beatle and wife Yoko Ono were returning from an evening recording session.

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The drifter said he had heard voices in his head telling him to kill Lennon.

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".

They described the murder as "calculated and unprovoked" and said the prisoner had a "continued interest" in maintaining notoriety.

AP