http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/dec/08/john-lennon-was-shot-to-death-35-years-ago-today/John Lennon was shot to death 35 years ago today
In this Aug. 22, 1980, file photo, John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, arrive at The Hit Factory, a recording studio in New York City.
By Rick Hampson, Associated Press
Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015 | 8:41 a.m.
In this Dec. 9. 1980, file photo, police lead suspect Mark David Chapman, with his head covered, from the 20th Precinct on New York's Upper West Side. Thirty-five years ago, Mark David Chapman shot and killed John Lennon, a former Beatles member.
NEW YORK — EDITOR'S NOTE: The death of John Lennon still reverberates as a defining moment for a generation and for the music world.
A man who helped define rock and roll, a leader of the peace movement, an icon of the Baby Boom generation, his sudden shooting death at the hands of Mark David Chapman inspired shock and mourning, and for many marked the end of an era.
Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison and was last denied parole in August 2014.
"I am sorry for causing that type of pain," Chapman told the parole board then. "I am sorry for being such an idiot and choosing the wrong way for glory." Chapman can try again for parole next year.
At a 2010 hearing, Chapman recalled that he had considered shooting Johnny Carson or Elizabeth Taylor instead, and said that he chose Lennon because the ex-Beatle was more accessible, that his century-old apartment building by Central Park "wasn't quite as cloistered."
Thirty-five years after the death of a cultural touchstone, The Associated Press is making a version of its original coverage available with photos.
Topic: John Lennon was shot to death 35 years ago today (Read 1431 times)
