Roger Clemens verdict: Not guilty on all six counts
By Kevin Kaduk
http://tinyurl.com/7gtwyk5
After eight weeks, 46 witnesses, two dozing jurors and an estimated $2
million-$3 million spent in taxpayer money, the Roger Clemens trial has
finally come to a close.
The verdict: Not guilty on three counts of making false statements, not
guilty on two counts of perjury and not guilty on one count of obstruction.
The charges stemmed from testimony that Clemens made in February 2008,
telling a Congressional committee that he had never taken steroids or HGH.
Prosecutors also alleged that Clemens intentionally made false statements
that misled investigators.
Clemens faced a maximum sentence of 30 years and a $1.5 million fine if he
had been convicted on all six counts, but he instead made out better than
Barry Bonds. The all-time career home runs leader was hit with one charge of
obstruction — but sentenced to no jail time — in his own perjury case.
Both Clemens and Bonds will hit the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time
this winter and it's likely that neither will walk away happy with the
results. Whether you agree with their stance or not, Cooperstown's voters
carry a much lower burden of proof when it comes to the evidence that both
used performance-enhancing drugs during their careers.
But like Bonds, Clemens benefited from the reasonable-doubt standard that's
applied in a federal courtroom. Despite staging an exhaustive trial, federal
prosecutors were unable to build a convincing case. Nor were they able to
defeat the doubts that the defense raised about the motives and integrity of
former Clemens trainer Brian McNamee.
So that's that. While we'll argue forever about the merits of the nation's
lawmakers getting involved with baseball's steroid era, Clemens has escaped
the legal process with no major damage except for a sizable lawyer bill.
He'll face much more public scrutiny going forward, of course, but this trial
was really never going to have any impact on the court of public opinion.
Your view of Clemens before this verdict is probably the same as your view
now.
UPDATE: The U.S Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia has released
the following statement:
"The jury has spoken in this matter and we thank them for their service. We
respect the judicial process and the jury's verdict. The U.S. Attorney's
Office also wishes to thank the investigators and prosecutors, who pursued
this case with tremendous dedication and professionalism after its referral
to us from Congress."
大意: 对Clemens的六项指控全数被判无罪 但他的HOF之路?
[老实说个人觉得禁药事件B.Selig本来就是该负最大责任的人
在最高位的人 不先对内订订规则 反而请前参议员先调查 这想法也满特殊的]
[如果要探讨吃HCG等 有无道德之议题 又是另一个讨论面象了]
对了记得以ERA+来看 Clemens似乎是近代最强投手没有之一 XD
毕竟生涯有2场单场20K(还相隔10年 XD)