USA authorities end criminal case against Barry Bonds

After a decade of investigating and prosecuting baseball’s home run king for obstruction of justice, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday morning it would not challenge an April reversal of the former San Francisco Giants slugger’s felony conviction.

The federal government has ended its prosecution of former Major League Baseball player Barry Bonds, according to the Associated Press.

In April, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Bonds’ answer then did not constitute obstruction of justice and was not pertinent to a broader federal investigation to sports doping in the San Francisco area.

To view the full article, register now. “Instead, the DOJ said the reversal of Bonds’ conviction would stand”. However, Bonds’ legal victory likely will not remove the tarnish attached to his on-the-field accomplishments.

Barry Bonds did not lie about being injected with steroids or withhold information when he was asked in court about performance-enhancing drug use, at least as far as the U.S. Department of Justice is concerned. The DOJ had a few avenues to appeal the decision including a petition to the United States Supreme Court.

Bonds had served a portion of the sentence given him from the initial conviction before the decision was overturned. The grand jury was convened as part of an investigation into the BALCO steroids scandal.

Now the question is, could this clearing of his criminal record spark him finally gaining entry into baseball’s Hall of Fame? Clemens was acquitted in 2012 on all charges that he obstructed and lied to Congress in denying he used performance-enhancing drugs.

Bonds is the only one of 11 people charged in the BALCO case left without a conviction.

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.

In 2007, Bonds retired from baseball with 762 career home runs, which broke the previous record of 755 set by Hank Aaron.