Houston man gets death sentence in 2008 triple killing | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Houston man gets death sentence in 2008 triple killing | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "Harris County jury deliberated three hours before sentencing Garland Bernell Harper to death Monday for fatally stabbing his 38-year-old girlfriend and strangling her two daughters.
Harper, 40, was living with Triska Lashaun Rose in a southwest Houston condo for several months before beginning to stalk her and accuse her of cheating on him. He eventually tied her up, stabbed her and slit her throat on Oct. 24, 2008, prosecutors said.
Harper also was accused of binding, then strangling Briana Roberson, 15, and Mya Love, 7. Harper was not the children's father.
After being sentenced by state District Judge Jeannine Barr, Harper would not look at Rose's brother who said he was 'not a man' during a victim impact statement.
'You're weak. You prey on women,' said Terrence Rose. 'I want to say, 'May God have mercy on your soul' but I can't say that now.'
Defense lawyers described Harper as a mentally ill man with a drug problem, which made him delusional, believing Rose was having an affair with a man Harper could never catch."

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cocaine possession charges against Phillies prospect Tyson Gillies have been dropped.

The Kamloops Daily News in British Columbia reported Saturday that cocaine possession charges against Phillies prospect Tyson Gillies have been dropped.

The Phillies had no comment.

Gillies' lawyer, Kevin Hayslett, told the newspaper that the state of Florida looked at the evidence and decided not to proceed with the case.

"I'm glad that this order is over," Gillies told the newspaper. "But I'm still very upset that it happened to me and that my character, which I've worked so hard to build, can even be questioned. ... I was drug-tested five hours after the incident happened and it had obviously come back negative. I know who I am and what I'm about as a person and was stunned [with] the thing I had to go through."

Philadelphia acquired Gillies as part of the Cliff Lee trade with Seattle in December.

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"Star Wars" actress Carrie Fisher admitted Monday to taking cocaine on the set of "The Empire Strikes Back"

"Star Wars" actress Carrie Fisher admitted Monday to taking cocaine on the set of "The Empire Strikes Back", saying she didn't even like the drug but was intent on getting high.
The Princess Leia actress, now 53, said her life had been defined by addiction, with stints in psychiatric hospitals and rehab clinics -- even the emergency room with an overdose.
"We did cocaine on the set of 'Empire', in the ice planet," Fisher told Australian newswire AAP, referring to the setting of the second film in the original "Star Wars" trilogy.
"I didn't even like coke that much, it was just a case of getting on whatever train I needed to take to get high," she said while visiting Sydney for her "Wishful Drinking" stand-up comedy show.
Now a writer and comedienne, Fisher's turn as Princess Leia in the 1977-1983 "Star Wars" saga was by far her most famous role.
"The Blues Brothers" co-star John Belushi warned her that she had a problem prior to his own death from a drug overdose in 1982, and Fisher said she ultimately came to realise how dangerous her habits were.
"Slowly I realised I was doing a bit more drugs than other people and losing my choice in the matter," she said. "If I'd been addicted to booze I'd be dead now, because you just go out and get it."
Fisher was born into Hollywood -- her mother, musical starlet Debbie Reynolds, was married to veteran crooner Eddie Fisher. Fisher, who died last month, left the family for Elizabeth Taylor when Carrie was just two.
The former star said she did not blame her broken family or the pressures of celebrity for her addictions.
"It's always been my responsibility," she said. "If it was Hollywood (to blame), then we'd all be dope addicts."

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Rolling Stone's Keith Richards has revealed that he carried guns when he went to buy drugs at the height of his addiction

Rolling Stone's Keith Richards has revealed that he carried guns when he went to buy drugs at the height of his addiction to protect himself.

And even today the reformed Street Fighting Man admits to always carrying a four-inch knife tucked in his belt to deal with muggers.

"You make a cut across the forehead - doesn't hurt," News of the World quoted him as saying in an interview to publicize his explosive new autobiography 'Life'.

"All the blood comes down, and then you kick the f****r in the balls. It's a very efficient way of dealing with problems," he said.

Keith has been off cocaine after suffering a blood clot in his brain during his tree fall in Fiji four years ago.

The guitarist says he took no chances when buying heroin on US streets where everyone has the right to carry a gun.

"The first one I bought was a Luger I picked up in the East Village in New York City," he said.

"After that I went into Kieth Richards the guitarist affectionately known as "Keef" has revealed that he frequently carried firearms when copping heroin at the height of his addiction in the 1970s. He said, "The first [gun] I bought was a Luger I picked up in the East Village in New York City. After that I went into rifles for a bit just because they go further."

He continued, "I've carried a piece or two now and again -- most of that was to do with the heroin business and being involved in, like, scoring. Especially in America, it bodes you well to be armed.

"A .38 Smith and Wesson Airweight revolver -- that is the f---ing gun. No safety [catch] on it."

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State seeks death penalty for Ana Cardona in Lolly Pop murder case - Fort Lauderdale Domestic Violence & Abuse | Examiner.com

State seeks death penalty for Ana Cardona in Lolly Pop murder case - Fort Lauderdale Domestic Violence & Abuse | Examiner.com: "Ana Cardona, twice convicted of the same crime, awaits sentencing for the brutal murder of her 3 year old son Lazaro ``Baby Lollipops'' Figueroa. Lazaro, badly beaten and weighing just 18 pounds at three years old, was discovered dead in the bushes of a Miami Beach bayfront home in November 1990. Unidentified at first, Lazaro was dubbed Baby Lollipops for the design on his T-shirt.

Cardona was convicted at trial in 1992 of Lazaro's murder, and became the first woman in Florida to be sentenced to Death Row for her own child's murder. The Florida Supreme Court later overturned her conviction and ordered a retrial. Prosecutors said Cardona tortured Lazaro over months, eventually dumping his bloodied body before fleeing with her lover to the Orlando area."

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