Kiefer Sutherland to narrate Apple TV+’s John Lennon docuseries, ‘Murder Without a Trial’
Kiefer Sutherland has been tapped to narrate an upcoming docuseries about the murder of John Lennon.
Apple TV+ announced the three-part docuseries on Thursday,
“John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial” will be narrated by the Emmy-winning “24” star, who also lent his unmistakable voice to the 2002 thriller “Phone Booth,” starring Colin Farrell. The docuseries will offer a look into Lennon’s cultural influence, his music, a comprehensive deep dive into the pop star’s 1980 murder, the subsequent investigation and the conviction of his confessed killer, Mark David Chapman.
According to Apple, producers were granted extensive Freedom of Information Act requests from the New York City Police Department, the Board of Parole and the district attorney’s office. The series includes exclusive interviews with eyewitnesses, speaking for the first time, along with some of Lennon’s closest friends, shedding new light on the details of Lennon’s life and sudden demise
Out of all the John Lennon remembrances I have read this year, I found Robert Hilburn’s the most touching (“Imagine if He’d Lived,” Dec. 6).
“John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial” will also feature interviews with Chapman’s defense lawyers, psychiatrists, detectives and prosecutors.
The series is produced for Apple TV+ by 72 Films, the production company behind the Emmy-winning “9/11: One Day in America” documentary. Nick Holt and Rob Coldstream are directing the project, with executive producers David Glover, Mark Raphael and Coldstream, alongside producers Simon Bunney and Louis Lee Ray.
The former Beatle was shot in the back four times by Chapman on Dec. 8, 1980, as he walked with his wife, Yoko Ono, into the Dakota apartment building in Manhattan, where Lennon was living. Chapman had snagged an autograph from the “Imagine” songwriter just hours before he killed him. Chapman, who pleaded guilty after the slaying, began serving his sentence of 20 years to life on Aug. 25, 1981.
Remembering John Lennon through his letters (and postcards)
According to Rolling Stone, Lennon’s killer is housed at Green Haven Correctional Facility in New York’s Hudson Valley. Chapman interviews with the Board of Parole every two years seeking release and has been denied parole repeatedly. He’ll next meet with the board in February 2024.
According to police, Chapman was found sitting near where he fired the rounds, reading a copy of “Catcher in the Rye,” which he told authorities was his statement.
On the 25th anniversary of Lennon’s murder, the 2005 documentary “I Killed John Lennon: The Mark Chapman Tapes” featured taped interviews with Chapman discussing the murder. Doctors who tried to save Lennon, as well as New York Police Department officers, also spoke in detail about the incident that shocked the world.
Apple TV+ has not yet announced a release date for the upcoming docuseries.
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