Barry Bonds criminal case comes to an end, name cleared of felony

The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday dropped a almost 10-year prosecution of former San Francisco Giant Barry Bonds over performance-enhancing drugs, according to multiple reports.

To view the full article, register now. And with the conviction overturned, the DOJ chose to end its pursuit of Bonds, issuing a terse, one-paragraph announcement of its decision. His sentence of two years of probation and 30 days of home confinement was put on hold pending his appeal.

The decade-long investigation and prosecution of Bonds for obstruction of justice ended quietly Tuesday morning when the DOJ said it would not challenge the reversal of his felony conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Last week the DOJ had announced that it would not appeal the court’s ruling on overturning the conviction. Verrilli Jr. will not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the appellate decision that overturned Bonds’ obstruction of justice conviction.

Bonds was initially called to testify before the grand jury probing the BALCO steroid distribution scandal that rocked the sports world.

After a long, drawn out legal battle with former baseball slugger Barry Bonds, the Justice Department is waving the white flag.

He will no longer be linked to felony charges and the clearing of his criminal record could potentially pave the way for him to gain election into baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Bonds is the only one of 11 people charged in the BALCO case left without a conviction. A player must garner at least 75 percent of the vote to be elected. He served the home confinement portion while waiting for his appeal to be decided. Clemens was acquitted in 2012 on all charges that he obstructed and lied to Congress in denying he used performance-enhancing drugs.

In his 2003 testimony, Bonds admitted to the grand jury he had taken substances known as “the clear” and “the cream” from Anderson but said he thought they were flaxseed oil and arthritis ointment.

Bonds hit 762 home runs and maintained a stellar 1.051 OPS across parts of 22 seasons in the Majors.