Chapman 'ashamed of killing Lennon'

5:01pm Wednesday 20th August 2008

John Lennon's killer has told a US parole panel he is ashamed and sorry for gunning down the former Beatle nearly three decades ago.

Mark Chapman was interviewed by the parole board for a fifth time last Tuesday and was immediately denied release. A transcript of the hearing has been made public on Tuesday.

Chapman, 53, told the New York panel that, over the years, he had come to realise the gravity of what he did, and how it affected not only Lennon, but his wife, children and anybody who knew him.

As he has in the past, he also told the board that he was seeking notoriety and fame to counter feelings of failure when he decided to kill Lennon.

Lennon was shot four times in December 1980 outside his New York apartment.