Yoko Ono Calls for an End to Gun Deaths on Anniversary of John Lennon’s Murder
On the 36th anniversary of John Lennon’s murder, his widow Yoko Ono has once again called upon Americans to do something about gun deaths in the U.S. She penned a letter on social media calling for everyone to work together to stop the violence and “bring back America.”
“Dear Friends,” she wrote on Facebook. “Every day, 91 Americans are killed with guns. We are turning this beautiful country into a War Zone. Together, let's bring back America, the green land of Peace. The death of a loved one is a hollowing experience. After 36 years, our son Sean and I still miss him.”
The photograph that accompanied this was the iconic photo of Lennon’s bloody glasses on a window sill looking out over Manhattan. A caption read, “Over 1,200,000 people have been killed by guns in the U.S.A. since John Lennon was shot and killed on December 8th, 1980.”
Lennon was killed by Mark David Chapman in front of the Dakota, his apartment building in New York City upon returning home following a recording session. Six months later, Chapman pleaded guilty to the charge of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20-years-to-life in prison. He served the first 32 years at the Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, N.Y., and in 2012, he was transferred to the Wende Correctional Facility, also near Buffalo. Chapman has been denied parole nine times, most recently in August 2016. He will be eligible for parole again in 2018.
In other tributes today, the Beatles’ official Facebook page posted a photo of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club-era Lennon with the words “Remembering John” and Sean Lennon put up a picture of his parents on Instagram.
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