John Lennon's killer, Mark David Chapman, has been pictured for the first time in about six years ahead of his 10th bid for freedom.
The prison mugshot, taken in January, shows Chapman smiling with his thinning hair parted to one side as he wears a green, collared shirt in front of a chart measuring his height.
The 63-year-old's hair appears to be going grey and he looks thinner than when he was pictured in a New York state prison in 2012.
Chapman is due to face a parole board this week for the 10th time, 38 years after he gunned down Lennon outside the Beatles legend's Manhattan home.
The killer has been denied parole on nine previous occasions since he first became eligible in 2000.
This week's hearing will be held behind closed doors, and the decision may not be made for days or weeks.
The board has up to two weeks to make a decision, and official state protocol calls for Chapman to be notified first, followed by Lennon's family.
Chapman, who had struggled with mental illness and admitted to having an obsession with Lennon, said he heard voices urging him to “do it.” On the day of the murder, Lennon, then 40, and Chapman had previously interacted. Lennon signed an autograph for Chapman as he was leaving his home in the Dakota apartment building to head to a recording session with his wife, Yoko Ono. After returning from the recording session later that night, Chapman approached yet again, this time shooting the singer in front of Ono and others. After the killing, Chapman sat down on a nearby curb and read a copy of the book The Catcher in the Rye until he was arrested.
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