Portfolio Entry # 11 - Letter from Yoko Ono Lennon to the Parole Board

In 2000, Mark David Chapman, the man who shot and killed John Lennon in 1980, requested freedom from the New York State Division of Parole. As part of the parole release decision-making process, the Board of Parole considers “any statement made by a victim or representative of the victim”[1]. For this reason Yoko Ono Lennon, the widow of the late former Beatle, wrote a letter to the Parole Board in which she expressed her standpoint about that petition. The five most important ideas Yoko Ono communicated were as follows.

First, John Lennon was an ordinary man who became both a great artist and a remarkable person. Second, the loss of Lennon was an irreparable damage, not only for his family and friends but also for the entire world. Third, Yoko Ono could transform her affliction into action, in order to exalt Lennon´s memory. Fourth, the death of John Lennon was unfair and incomprehensible. He was a good man, a beloved husband and father, an artist full of projects and had not the opportunity of defend himself. Fifth, the release of Mark Chapman could be a dangerous decision for the rest of the society and for himself, too. John Lennon´s family and friends, fans and the entire society could experiment a feeling of inequity due to the freedom of a criminal. As a result, they could react in a violent way, trying to take the law into their own hands.

On 3th October 2000, parole was denied to John Lennon´s killer, Mark David Chapman.

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[1] Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. (2010). New York State Parole Handbook (p. Section Two, Point 22). New York State. Available at: http://www.doccs.ny.gov/Parole_Handbook.html#h2_22

Resource:

• Letter to the Parole Board. Yoko Ono Lennon. (2000). Rolling Stones, (853), Page 105.