Leo Sharp is a World War II veteran, Bronze Star recipient, and once ran a business selling daylilies to clients around the world. Wednesday was his 90th birthday, and also the day he was sentenced to three years in prison for smuggling cocaine.
A resident of northwest Indiana, Sharp was driving on I-94 two years ago when Michigan State Police pulled him over and discovered a truckload of cocaine; the 87-year-old was promptly arrested. While out on bond, Sharp admitted to ABC7 Chicago that he was a cocaine courier, but would kill himself before going to prison. "I won't live in a toilet with bars," he said. "Ever."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Ken Martin: the Minnesota politico turned DNC chairIn the Spotlight Martin, the head of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, was elected with over half the vote
-
Montenegro offers Adriatic adventures without the crowdsThe Week Recommends There is room for everyone in this Balkan destination
-
'Although deepfake porn is a global problem, South Korea has been hit particularly hard'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suitSpeed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments lawSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
Swearing in the UK: a colourful historyIn The Spotlight Thanet council's bad language ban is the latest chapter in a saga of obscenity
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidenceSpeed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulationsSpeed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
