John was a friend of mine but I find this total domination of the judicial system by the media very sick. Would Chapman be free now if his victim had not been famous? I suspect he would.

www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28905473

JK2006 wrote:
John was a friend of mine but I find this total domination of the judicial system by the media very sick. Would Chapman be free now if his victim had not been famous? I suspect he would.

www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28905473

I guess you're right,in the same way Myra and Brady have been treated.
But,he deprived the world of a genius,death would have been easier all round in this extreme case.

I think it was denied for his own protection, no doubt people will revenge attack them.

just read Catcher in The Rye for the first time.
what a brilliant writer J. D. Salinger was.

you can see elements of Chapman in the Catcher's 'hero'.

He can rot there, he's a waste of skin.

hedda wrote:
you can see elements of Chapman in the Catcher's 'hero'


Well I can't - but, like most, I know nothing whatsoever about Chapman.

Except that he was a coward, and the murderer of a famous and unarmed man - who made the fatal error of being nice to him.

How you can link the fictional character - with a real life killer - is beyond me.

Try Manchurian Candidate hedda

hedda wrote:

you can see elements of Chapman in the Catcher's 'hero'.

Hardly a surprise seeing as he seized on the book as a cynical excuse to kill a good man in cold blood.

He probably wouldn't be a danger now. The other people he said he wanted to kill - Liz Taylor, Walter Cronkite, Jackie O and Marlon Brando are all dead.

ROSS1938 wrote:
hedda wrote:
you can see elements of Chapman in the Catcher's 'hero'


Well I can't - but, like most, I know nothing whatsoever about Chapman.

Except that he was a coward, and the murderer of a famous and unarmed man - who made the fatal error of being nice to him.

How you can link the fictional character - with a real life killer - is beyond me.





Sallinger's 'hero' has so many elements of a psychopath from my reading and could have been based on someone Sallinger knew as it is so insightful.
Chapman had serious mental problems and is undoubtedly a psychopath- still has no understanding of the distress his crime has caused.


How much influence does Yoko Ono have in all this as she opposed his release?.

By making those assumptions, your flawed logic could link Chapman with any number of disfunctional characters in literature.

From Cain to Blackbeard.

I don't see the widow's views as being too relevant in this clear cut crime/case. It is highly unlikely that Chapman will ever be released.

Ah but Ross it is MOST significant; Chapman addicted to the book and similarities in character inspiring the horrid deed. Shows just how powerful fiction is - especially when promoted by the media. As is his parole refusal. I knew John pretty well (though not as well as Yoko) and I would bet he'd be 100% in favour of parole being granted. Though a prickly and difficult man, John had a heart of gold and would have absolutely agreed with me on this.

It doesn't matter if he "deserves" to be released or not. The important thing is that he is treated the same as other murderers who killed in similar circumstances.
John Lennon's life is worth no more and no less than anyone else's.

Spot on Honey. One of the pleasures of having ones own board is hearing from like index individuals.

JK2006 wrote:
Spot on Honey. One of the pleasures of having ones own board is hearing from like index individuals.

I think Chapman is just kept in prison so that there is no vigilante attack from a craze Lennon fan.

andrew wrote:
JK2006 wrote:
Spot on Honey. One of the pleasures of having ones own board is hearing from like index individuals.

I think Chapman is just kept in prison so that there is no vigilante attack from a craze Lennon fan.

could be but he may also be barking