John Lennons murderer failed again

John Lennon's murderer has failed in his bid for parole.

Mark Chapman, who shot dead the legendary Beatle outside his New York home in 1980, was told by the New York State Division of Parole that he must remain in jail because of the "extreme malicious intent" of his crime.

It was the third attempt by the 49-year-old to win his freedom and he will now face at least another two years behind bars before he is eligible to for &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/society/2000/10/04/77.html ' target=_blank>parole again.

Parole Board Chief William Smith said in his statement to Chapman: "Following a personal interview, a review of your records and deliberation, your release to parole supervision is denied.

"This is based on the extreme malicious intent you exhibited during the instant offence where you fired a handgun multiple times, striking your target John Lennon. Your course of conduct over a lengthy period of time shows a clear lack of respect for life and subjected the wife (Yoko Ono) of the victim to monumental suffering by her witnessing the &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/society/2003/02/26/43743.html ' target=_blank>crime.", reports Independent Online.

According to the MTV News, Chapman is serving a prison sentence of 20 years to life at the Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/usa/2002/06/03/29616.html ' target=_blank>New York, and had been denied parole twice previously, in 2000 and 2002. Chapman is next eligible for a parole hearing in 2006.

In his 29-minute hearing, Chapman explained that he was motivated to shoot Lennon because of "the attention this murder would generate."

The Division of Parole wrote that "although proven true, such rationale is bizarre and morally corrupt.