Justice Department formally drops criminal prosecution of Barry Bonds
Former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds sits in the stands during the game against the San Diego Padres at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, June 23, 2014. The all-time Major League Baseball home run leader had been convicted of obstruction of justice in 2011, but a federal appeals court later overturned the conviction.
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“That’s what keeps our friendship”, Bonds said. The appeals court ruling wiped out what was left of the Bonds prosecution, which began in 2003 when his name surfaced in records linked to a then-obscure Peninsula laboratory known as BALCO that became the epicenter of doping in sports.
Bonds had been sentenced in 2011 to two years’ probation, 250 hours of community service, a fine of $4,000 and ordered to spend a month of monitored home confinement. In a one-paragraph motion on Wednesday, the Department of Justice said it would not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review that decision. The DOJ said in its court filing that the solicitor general would not appeal the case, meaning the reversal of Bonds’ conviction would stand.
According to the Associated Press, the United States Department of Justice dropped Bonds’ prosecution after almost 10 years of legal fighting. A jury convicted him of obstructing justice because of the answer he gave when he was asked if his personal trainer Greg Anderson ever injected him with steroids. But he was acquitted on all perjury counts at the original trial and the obstruction of justice ruling was overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals in April.
The case involved testimony Bonds, 50, gave to a grand jury in 2003 about whether he used steroids to help him hit more long balls. The investigation netted a number of convictions and prison terms, including BALCO mastermind Victor Conte, but it appears the superstar considered the biggish fish got away in the end. A player must garner at least 75 percent of the vote to be elected.
Bonds served 30 days of home confinement before his conviction was reversed in 2011.
Bonds ended his career after the 2007 season with 762 career home runs, surpassing Hank Aaron’s long-standing record of 755.