(CNN) – John Lennon created the most beautiful music ever recorded, and Mark David Chapman murdered him. That the latter gets the most time in the documentary series John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial says a lot about media culture and how the popularity of true crimes gives the perpetrators the notoriety that some of them seek.
The title, of course, gives away the meaning of this three-part presentation, which will be streamed on Apple TV+. The project attempts to do Lennon justice by describing the former Beatle as “one of the most outspoken peace activists the world has ever seen,” making the horror of his murder in 1980 even more shocking.
The audio recording of a final interview with Lennon further highlights the sense of what has been lost, as he talks about wanting to live and work for a long time when he returns to the studio, and about wanting to be close to his young son Sean.
At its best, the documentary captures the immediate outpouring of grief that greeted reports of Lennon’s death, from the fans who gathered outside Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Dakota home to the “Monday Night Football” team debated on camera how – and indeed whether – they could intervene in the game by announcing the news. (Howard Cosell, who expressed skepticism, eventually broke the news.)
Still, the irony at play here is expressed by former New York prosecutor Kim Hogrefe, who notes in the third part of the documentary that she refers to Chapman only as “the defendant” to avoid giving him more publicity or the to give him the desired notoriety. “It’s incredibly unfortunate that he tried to gain attention by stealing the fame of someone like John Lennon,” Hogrefe says.
An image of Mark David Chapman in “John Lennon: Murder Without Trial” on Apple TV+. (Source: Apple TV+)
After the introductory chapter, which includes interviews with police and emergency responders caught up in the chaos surrounding the shooting, much of “Murder Without Trial” focuses on Chapman’s motivations and mental health, including his original intent to pursue an insanity defense to pursue. This discussion also includes the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan three months later by John Hinckley Jr., who also used this legal strategy and contributed to the public skepticism about his legitimacy at the time.
Part of the conversation revolves around the emergence of conspiracy theories fueled by the lack of a trial, including the government’s interest in Lennon’s anti-war activities. However, this is just additional material for the more salacious side of the story, in which “Murder Without Trial” operates more consistently.
Narrated by Kiefer Sutherland and directed by Nick Holt and Rob Coldstream, the documentary series begins by presenting what follows as a “journey into the mind of a murderer.” It also debuts alongside the release of a new Beatles song, “Now and Then,” which features Lennon’s vocals.
While the amount of information the series provides about Chapman’s mental state so many years later is open to debate and interpretation, perhaps the fact that it elaborates and devotes less time to Lennon’s life and musical legacy speaks volumes. The same thing happens to us, both then and especially now, as it happens to each of the protagonists.
“John Lennon: Murder Without Trial” premieres on Apple TV+ on December 6th.
Editor’s note: The wife of Bryan Lowry, a CNN journalist who wrote this article, works for a division of Apple.