JOHN's KILLER HAS BEEN DENIED PAROLE FOR NINTH TIME

John 's killer has been denied parole for a ninth time.
 

Wende Correctional Facility

Mark David Chapman met with a three-member parole panel during the week and was later informed he will be kept behind bars at least another two years, when he will be next eligible for parole, a state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision official told the Daily News.

The official did not know the reasoning behind the decision.

But in the past, the Parole Board — even while citing Chapman's clean prison record since 1994 — has routinely said that releasing him would "undermine respect for the law."

A lawyer and spokesman for Yoko Ono, did not return calls for comment Saturday.

Chapman, 61, shot John on Dec. 8, 1980, as he and Ono returned to their Dakota building home across from Central Park after a late night recording session.

Sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, Chapman currently resides at upstate Wende Correctional Facility.

The News recently reported that since his last parole hearing in 2014, five people sent letters to the Parole Board seeking his release. There were also two letters during that time in opposition to granting Chapman parole.

One of those letters opposing parole came from Ono, her lawyer, Jonas Herbsman, had previously confirmed.

Herbsman said the new letter reaffirmed previous correspondences to the board made public that expressed fears for the safety of herself and Lennon's two sons — Sean and Julian — if Chapman is released.

Ono's past letters also expressed concern that Chapman himself could face danger from one of the slain Beatle’s fans seeking revenge.

In past parole hearings, the once pudgy killer has claimed to have found Jesus while behind bars.

Chapman has said he targeted Lennon because of his fame and a twisted belief that the rocker was a phony for living an elite lifestyle.

He is kept in protective custody against his will and works as an administrative clerk. He's allowed out of his cell a minimum of three hours a day.

Chapman also is registered in the prison system's "family reunion" program, which allows him conjugal visits with his wife, Gloria Hiroko Chapman, who married him 18 months before the murder, and visits with his stepfather. His wife could not be reached for comment.

Chapman in previous parole hearings said he's willing to pay for his crime in prison "however long it takes, forever."

He once angered Ono when he said he believed Lennon would have forgiven him.

He also admitted to having eyed other targets, including Johnny Carson and Elizabeth Taylor, now both dead, if he hadn't been able to get to Lennon.

Chapman said at his 2014 parole hearing that if he's released there is a minister who has agreed to take him in and give him a job.

He said he learned how to fix wheelchairs while behind bars.