DOCUMENT: Celebrity, Crime

Yoko Opposes Chapman Release

John Lennon's widow again fights parole of Beatle killer

John Lennon

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Yoko Ono Letter

OCTOBER 4--With Mark David Chapman scheduled this week for a parole hearing, Yoko Ono has resubmitted a letter opposing the release of her husband's killer. The 49-year-old Chapman murdered John Lennon in December 1980.

In her poignant letter, Ono recalls her husband as a "man of humble origin" who "brought light and hope to the whole world with his words and music."

Ono originally submitted the letter to New York's Division of Parole in September 2000, when Chapman first became eligible for release. That bid, and another in 2002, were rejected. (4 pages)