John Lennon killer denied release from prison

Mark Chapman has been denied release from prison in his seventh appearance before a parole board. Credit: Press Association Images

The killer of Liverpool Beatles member John Lennon has been denied release from prison. It is Mark Chapman's seventh appearance before a parole board.

The 57-year-old was denied parole after a hearing, according to the New York Department of Corrections, but he can try again in two years.

Chapman shot Lennon in 1980 outside the Manhattan apartment building where he lived, 10 years after the Beatles split up.

He was sentenced in 1981 to 20 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.

Chapman was transferred in May from the Attica Correctional Facility in western New York to nearby Wende Correctional Facility. Both are maximum security.

Chapman fired five shots outside the Dakota apartment building on December 8, 1980, hitting Lennon four times.