On This Day in 1981, This Rock Icon’s Murderer Pled Guilty Against His Lawyer’s Advice Because “God Commanded Him To”

On a drizzly, dank December day in New York City, Mark David Chapman took the life of one of the biggest rock stars of all time just steps away from the musician’s front door. Despite doctors’ efforts, John Lennon died from multiple hollow-point bullet wounds at the nearby Mount Sinai Hospital. Meanwhile, police were arresting Chapman, calmly reading J.D. Salinger’s Catcher In The Rye, in front of the Dakota building just across from Central Park.

The event was a turning point in pop culture history. The Beatles might have been long gone, but John Lennon was still a prominent figure in the public’s mind. Moreover, he was just starting to get back into the recording studio after spending the first couple of years of his son Sean’s life being a stay-at-home father. Lennon was on the way back from the studio with his wife, Yoko Ono, when Chapman called out for his attention and shot him.

Six months later, Chapman was in a closed courtroom in New York City, pleading guilty to the crime, despite his lawyer’s advice. Chapman’s reasoning? Divine commandment.

Mark David Chapman Pled Guilty to the Murder of John Lennon

Jonathan Marks and David L. Suggs of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office represented Mark David Chapman in the State Supreme Court in Manhattan with Justice Dennis Edwards Jr. presiding. Chapman’s lawyers hoped to enter a plea of insanity, suggesting Chapman was not mentally capable of realizing the full consequences of his actions. The prosecution, however, argued Chapman acted out a “deliberate, premeditated execution” in a “cool, calm, and calculated manner,” per the New York Times.

Ultimately, Chapman seemed to agree with the prosecution. After entering his guilty plea, prosecutor Allen F. Sullivan asked Chapman if he made the choice to murder John Lennon of his own free will. “It is my decision and God’s decision,” Chapman replied. “Before you made this decision, did you indulge in any prayer?” Sullivan asked. “Yes, there were a number of prayers,” Chapman said. Sullivan asked Chapman if it was God who told him to plead guilty, and Chapman said it was. Chapman confirmed his plea—and his decision to follow “God’s directive”—was his choice.

Chapman received a sentence of 20 years to life. As of this writing, he has been denied parole fourteen times. The most recent parole hearing is still unavailable to the public, but Chapman has gone on record as saying, “I knew what I was doing, and I knew it was evil. I knew it was wrong. But I wanted the fame so much that I was willing to give everything and take a human life,” per The Guardian.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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