As the jury deliberates in the perjury case against Barry Bonds, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ordered the release of Bonds former trainer, Greg Anderson. The Judge ordered Anderson imprisoned at the beginning of the trial for his refusal to testify.
As well, jurors today requested the transcript of the audio tape recording between Steve Hoskins and Anderson, where the two speak about Bonds' use of PEDs. The jury then requested to listen to the tape.
As far as where this case is headed, prosecutors did have difficulty making out the case against Bonds. Remember - they need to convince ALL JURORS that Bonds knowingly lied about taking steroids and they must do so BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT (sorry for all the caps - sometimes I get too excited).
Looking back, a significant problem for the prosecution was its group of 3 witnesses in Kimberly Bell, Steve Hoskins and Dr. Arthur Ting, who contradicted one another and were undermined on cross-examination.
As I've said before, the prosecution's best bet is Count 2 (that Bonds knowingly lied he was injected - not with steroids - just injected). No one knows what the jury is thinking though. One thing is for sure - if I'm Bonds I'm a lot more optimistic this week than last week. Bonds could end up with a modest sentence or no jail time at all.
Should be interesting as this heads for the final act.
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