John Lennon's killer denied parole for an 11th time

[thucythucy]

28. My mistake re: Berkowitz.

I was thinking of the Boston Strangler.

Not to be too picky, but if you could cite some examples of the "plenty of people" who have committed similar murders being released I'd be most appreciative. I mean people who decided to murder someone for no particular personal reason, but rather only for the attendant publicity.

Chapman actually had a list of celebrities he wanted to murder, including Ronald Reagan, Jacqueline Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor, George C. Scott and Johnny Carson. Lennon just happened to be the most accessible. Given the opportunity, he might well have gone on killing. It's not like he had any compunctions about doing brutal things to people he didn't know.

He also had a history of stalking and threatening people he thought had slighted him, or were "phony." One of his victims reported how Chapman made up to forty threatening phone calls a day for a period of months. "A voice would whisper, 'Bang bang, you're dead!'" (Chapman confessed to making these phone calls).

Chapman deliberately used hollow nosed rounds, making his attack especially vicious. Lennon was conscious for several minutes after being shot, losing consciousness on the way to the hospital. During that time he puked up pieces of flesh that had been torn loose by the attack. His last moments must have been horrific.

And I'm not sure it's such a bad thing that murdering someone prominent, someone famous, be considered a factor in the severity of punishment. I think there is an argument to be made that killing someone like that--whether a political leader such as JFK, a movement leader such as MLK Jr. or a cultural leader such as Lennon--is a crime not only against that individual but also against the culture at large. The result is a profound shock to the entire society, almost on a par with terrorism. Such a shock is precisely what Chapman wanted.

So maybe "killing a famous musician" should carry with it an extra penalty, just as a murder committed as a hate crime.