Investigating the Handsome Devil Theory: How Physical Appearance Affects Defendants Like Luigi Mangione and Karen Read

It was the day the music died. Just as John Lennon returned home to his Manhattan apartment building across from Central Park with his wife, Yoko Ono, obsessed Beatles fan Mark David Chapman shot him four times in the back. He was soon pronounced dead at age 40. Instead of fleeing, Chapman remained at the scene reading “The Catcher in the Rye” – a book about a disaffected teenage hero that had become a touchstone for him. Chapman pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years to life.