Lil' Kim's ex-boyfriend facing death penalty

Rapper Lil' Kim ex-boyfriend is facing the death penalty following the alleged murder of six people.

Damion Hardy was arrested in 2004 on suspicion of leading a violent drug gang and he was later charged with ordering the slaying of four people in retaliation for the killing of his brother.

He was additionally charged with the killing of a bystander and participating in the murder of a Brooklyn, New York rollerskate rink worker.

In 2007, officials ruled he was incompetent to stand trial due to schizophrenia and the refusal to take medication, but this week (begs16Jul12) Brooklyn federal judge Frederic Block authorised federal officials to forcibly medicate him with anti-psychotic drugs in order to proceed with the case.

Assistant Attorney James Loonam stated, "There is an important government interest in proceeding to trial against Hardy and seeking justice for the six murders."

According to the New York Daily News, Hardy, who is currently being jailed in Missouri, has also been a threat behind bars - since 2006 he has allegedly stabbed an inmate in the head with a comb and smacked a guard with a sock full of batteries.

If convicted, Hardy, who used to share a New Jersey mansion with Lil' Kim, faces death by lethal injection.