Why Is John Lennon Unjust
According to some, John Lennon's assassination was considered just as devastating as the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy (Feeney, Nolan). John Lennon was a member of the very popular and impactful band, the Beatles. Lennon was considered the intellectual and outspoken Beatle and this resulted in a lot of hate from some people (History.com). The assassination of John Lennon was unjust because he was an innocent musician who was killed by a mentally unstable man; however some believe that because of his outspoken personality he deserved the animosity he received (History.com). Days before the shooting, Chapman told his wife he had been obsessed with killing Lennon. He showed her the gun and bullets, but she did not tell the police what was going on or what Chapman planned to do. On the day of the shooting Chapman met Lennon outside of the hotel Lennon was staying at, he even shook hands with his son and got him to sign his copy of Catcher in the Rye. While meeting Lennon Chapman was too starstruck to pull the trigger and waited hours outside the hotel for Lennon to return that
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night. Once he arrived, Chapman fired five shots from a .38 special revolver he bought in Hawaii, he recived the bullets from his friend who was a police officer in Atlanta.
Chapman said Lennon was the target “because he was very famous” and “If he was less famous than the three or four other people on the list, he would not have been shot.”, Chapman later said in his 6th parole hearing that Lennon was the easiest to locate on his list of possible candidates (NBCnews).
Chapman hero worshiped Lennon and became mentally unstable after discovering that Lennon told people that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus” and “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink...I don't know which will go first—rock 'n' roll or Christianity.”(Crime and Investigation) Chapman is very religious and said he had “a deep relationship with Christ” some of the members of Chapman's prayer group even made up a joke which was “Imagine, imagine if John Lennon was dead.” (NBCnews.) Since being arrested Chapman has been denied parole eight times (Feeney,
Nolan).
Lennon caused a major controversy in 1966 when he said The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus.” Later he became an anti-war activist and he used “communist lyrics” in some of his major songs. Many people, especially in the Bible Belt of America, disagreed with his opinions and believed that his death was just (History.com). Chapman grew up in a dysfunctional family and his dad physically abused his mom (Crime and Investigation), during the trial physiatrists discovered that Chapman was a borderline psychopath and told him to plead insanity. Chapman originally did plead insanity but later Chapman decided to change his plea because “God had told him to plead guilty.”(History.com.)
Even though Lennon said things that offend people with different beliefs than him, his assassination was unjust. Chapman killed Lennon without a reason other than being offended about what Lennon said and being too mentally unstable to understand what he was doing at the time. After Lennon's death Yoko Ono, Lennon’s wife, said “this is not the end of an era, the 80s are still going to be a beautiful time, and John believed it.” (Feeney, Nolan)
night. Once he arrived, Chapman fired five shots from a .38 special revolver he bought in Hawaii, he recived the bullets from his friend who was a police officer in Atlanta.
Chapman said Lennon was the target “because he was very famous” and “If he was less famous than the three or four other people on the list, he would not have been shot.”, Chapman later said in his 6th parole hearing that Lennon was the easiest to locate on his list of possible candidates (NBCnews).
Chapman hero worshiped Lennon and became mentally unstable after discovering that Lennon told people that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus” and “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink...I don't know which will go first—rock 'n' roll or Christianity.”(Crime and Investigation) Chapman is very religious and said he had “a deep relationship with Christ” some of the members of Chapman's prayer group even made up a joke which was “Imagine, imagine if John Lennon was dead.” (NBCnews.) Since being arrested Chapman has been denied parole eight times (Feeney,
Nolan).
Lennon caused a major controversy in 1966 when he said The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus.” Later he became an anti-war activist and he used “communist lyrics” in some of his major songs. Many people, especially in the Bible Belt of America, disagreed with his opinions and believed that his death was just (History.com). Chapman grew up in a dysfunctional family and his dad physically abused his mom (Crime and Investigation), during the trial physiatrists discovered that Chapman was a borderline psychopath and told him to plead insanity. Chapman originally did plead insanity but later Chapman decided to change his plea because “God had told him to plead guilty.”(History.com.)
Even though Lennon said things that offend people with different beliefs than him, his assassination was unjust. Chapman killed Lennon without a reason other than being offended about what Lennon said and being too mentally unstable to understand what he was doing at the time. After Lennon's death Yoko Ono, Lennon’s wife, said “this is not the end of an era, the 80s are still going to be a beautiful time, and John believed it.” (Feeney, Nolan)