We let the anniversary of John Lennon slip by unmentioned here. Although Lennon was one of my earliest heroes (sticking your tongue out o live TV seemed dangerous in those days) he has long been replaced by others. The date of his death (December 8) we never forget because it is our oldest son's birthday (born nine years later, he is 21 this year).
As with few other deaths, one remembers the moment one heard. I was in the staff room at Llanfrechfa Comprehensive School doing my teacher training year. I remember a regular staff member saying "now which one was John?" which annoyed me a bit. "If you don't know now you never will" I felt.
I did watch a documentary this week on the death. It was quite well put together, though strictly taking the Yoko Ono line. I went looking for a statement that struck me and found this more interesting bit in the Mail online, which I place here.
The murderer Mark Chapman, now 55, was sentenced to a prison term of 20 years to life and was denied parole for a sixth time at a hearing at Attica Correctional Facility, New York, in September, when he told officials considering his fate that he killed Mr Lennon on a quest for instant notoriety.
'I made a horrible decision to end another human being’s life, for reasons of selfishness … I felt that by killing John Lennon I would become somebody and instead of that I became a murderer, and murderers are not somebodies,' he said, revealing that he had also considered shooting other celebrities including actress Elizabeth Taylor before settling on Mr Lennon because he was more easily accessible.
His wife of 28 years, Gloria – who is still married to him and visits him in jail at least once a year – discusses in a rare and chilling interview with CNN why she did not report her husband’s killer instincts to authorities, despite having known that he had been considering shooting Mr Lennon, and tells how he subjected her to years of violent domestic abuse.
Chapman himself tells the documentary that he believes his mental troubles are behind him, despite parole board members deeming him unfit for release at his hearing in September. He told the hearing: 'My life has changed because of Jesus Christ. That is what has gotten me through this and to me, everything else is secondary.'
The thought that he could have killed Elizabeth Taylor instead is tantalising in all sorts of ways. Whether he has come to Christ or not is impossible for us to discern. I hope he has. It is the only answer. Whether he should be released on that basis is a difficult one. If he had been put to death for his murder then the dilemma would not be there.
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