NEW YORK, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Mark David Chapman, who shot
and killed former Beatle John Lennon 32 years ago, will have his
seventh parole hearing this week, New York state's Department of
Corrections said on Saturday.
A decision on whether to release him will likely be made
public by the end of the week, said department spokeswoman Linda
Foglia.
Chapman's interviews with the parole board will take place
at Wende Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in
Alden, New York, where he is being held, she said.
Chapman, 57, is serving a prison sentence of 20 years to
life for shooting Lennon four times in the back outside the
musician's New York City apartment building on Dec. 8, 1980. He
pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
He has come up for parole every two years since 2000 and has
been turned down each time.
After his last hearing in 2010, the three-member parole
board cited in written comments to Chapman, the "disregard you
displayed for the norms of our society and the sanctity of human
life."
Ahead of that hearing, the parole division received dozens
of letters arguing against Chapman's release, including one from
Lennon's widow Yoko Ono, who said she believed Chapman posed a
risk to her, Lennon's two sons, the public and himself.
Chapman was transferred in May to Wende from Attica
Correctional Facility, where he had been held for 31 years.
A corrections spokesman said at the time that Chapman was
placed in protective custody at Wende but the reason was not
made public. Wende is located in western New York state, east of
Buffalo.
(Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and
Jackie Frank)