Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Lennon murderer: I’ve been forgiven by Jesus
Chapman tells of ‘sins’ in letter from jail to pen pal
JOHN Lennon’s killer boasted that he has been forgiven by Jesus for assassinating the former Beatle.
Mark Chapman wrote a letter from jail to an American pen pal in which he said he had committed a “heinous crime”.
But he told the man, known only as Michael, that: “Jesus is a real, living person I have come to know. Jesus is everything.
“I have found this through the many long years here at Attica [the New York State prison where he was previously held].
“He chose to die so that our sins – even mine – could be forgiven. Twelve years ago I shot and killed the rock superstar John Lennon, formerly of the Beatles. Let me say here that it was a horrible occurrence, I have never forgotten it.”
The letter, written in 1992, came to light when it was sold to an anonymous US bidder for £265 by Eric Holler, whose website Serial Killers Ink specialises in selling personal effects of the most notorious criminals. The note also revealed that Chapman claimed to have written a book, called The Prisoner’s Letter. Holler, 47, said: “We initially obtained the letter from a private citizen who was a pen pal of Chapman’s.
“I have never been in touch with Chapman myself.
“It sold about an hour after it was listed on the website. I would love to obtain more Chapman items as they sell extremely well.”
Obsessed fan Chapman, now 62, shot Lennon, 40, four times in the back in December 1980 as he returned to his New York flat with wife Yoko. He was given a sentence of 20 years to life after admitting second-degree murder.
He is held at maximum-security Wende jail near Buffalo and his petition for parole has been denied every two years since 2000.