Lennon's killer denied parole again

NEW YORK, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Mark David Chapman, convicted of killing John Lennon in front of the former Beatle's New York City apartment, was denied parole Tuesday, officials said.

The decision was rendered by a three-member panel of New York state parole board commissioners, CNN reported. The panel concluded in a written statement it would be "inappropriate at this time and incompatible with the welfare of the community" to release Chapman -- who shot Lennon Dec. 8, 1980, in front of The Dakota co-op where Lennon lived with his wife, Yoko Ono, and their son Sean Lennon. The panel said it was concerned "about the disregard (Chapman) showed for the norms of our society and the sanctity of human life," CNN reported.

Chapman's sixth parole hearing, initially scheduled for August, was postponed until this month. The panel, meeting in Rochester, conducted a video conference with Chapman Tuesday, CNN said.

Chapman, 55, has served 29 years of an indeterminate sentence of 20 years to life at the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility.

The last time Chapman was eligible for parole, in 2008, the New York State Division of Parole said his request was denied "due to concern for the public safety and welfare." Chapman also was denied parole in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. He will be eligible for parole again in 2012.

Ono has submitted letters in previous years asking that Chapman's request for parole be denied.