There are no country club jails in the federal system. Not really anyway. I heard he is facing 30 years if convicted on all counts. Obviously he won't get that but federal sentencing guidelines are set by congress not some 2 bit town administrator. Judges don't have a lot of discretion.
I really don't know yet how I feel about this. I've been vocal about how I despise Bonds for his cheating. Do I want to see him go to jail though? Not really. He broke the law, so obviously he has to pay. The thing is, what I wanted was for him never to break the record. He already did that though. I highly doubt he gets removed from the record books. The big problem now is: how does this affect baseball? As much as I despise them, the Red Sox have helped to bring baseball back into the spotlight as a primary sport in this country. Bonds' chase helped too. What are the long-term ramifications of this though? Does the sport suffer? Now the windfall is sure to begin. All the names uncovered in investigations will begin dropping. This is going to be big, and it's going to severly damage the reputation of the sport. Back on the subject of Bonds, why did it take so long for this to happen? If they were able to find enough evidence of 4 counts, then there's been enough evidence for a long time. As much as I can't stand the guy, it looks a lot like he's being made a scapegoat. This is truly a mess.
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The government wouldn't bring this indictment unless it was 100% sure it would win. To do that they must have accumulated millions of pages of evidence, maybe as many as 20 witnesses and who knows what else. That all took time. BTW, the governments win ratio in court is over 98%. That's why they don't do it unless they know they can win. Think of Martha Stewart. Same type of case.
No. I heard it from an attorney that was on ESPN last night. A defense attorney, no less. I've heard that number before too. I'll see if I can find a link. Here's a link that shows 90% but it's only for one year. http://www.ojp.gov/bjs/fed.htm Cases were terminated against 83,391 defendants during 2004. Most (90%) defendants were convicted. Of the 74,782 defendants convicted, 72,152 (or 96%) pleaded guilty or no-contest.
It's roughly 90%. But thats because they aren't generally going up against people with the Economic resources to fight back. There are several elements here. One. Bonds has more than enough $$$$$ to hire the kind of legal expertise it takes to win. Two. The case against him is extraordinarily weak....In fact, the first time the prosecutor brought the same charges, the grand jury refused to indict him. Three. There is an element of...proportionality...at work here. Bonds original testimony was compelled, for the ends of prosecuting the Balco case, and in that case, the people ultimately prosecuted only faced approx 6 months in jail. (Vic Conte,Pat Arnold, and a couple others....). Bonds lawyers will make great hay out of the fact that the Feds misrepresented themselves, in their efforts to question Bonds, as the resulting 4 year interlude, indicates that Bonds was one of the targets all along...Had they tried to go after Bonds straight away, he would more likely than not have taken the Fifth. Bonds is legally bound to be honest, but the government is not supposed to be using federal grand juries to go on fishing expeditions or setting perjury traps.... And the fact that the prosecutor threw the obstruction charge on, smells of desperation. The count is 'gave evasive and misleading testimony'.... Bonds lawyers will have a field day with that in court. (I.E...They can't prove he was untruthful, so they want you to not like the sound of his answers.......)
if youre gonna find a country club its going to be a prison of the federal variety.....its the state places that are foul.....
I was thinking about that this morning. Few things get me all lathered up more than an arm of the government that uses its oppressive power just because it can. And, I do think the US Attorney has spent far too much time and far too many resources on Barry Bonds. My thinking is that this became less about Barry Bonds lying or taking steroids and more about Bonds flaunting his lack of prosecution. He never had to lie but still chose to, and then took every opportunity to crow about his innocence. He had full immunity before the grand jury and still chose to lie, and then maintained over and over again that, despite the mountain of evidence, he never took steroids. I think they were almost obligated to prosecute, or otherwise the US Attorney looks inept.
I wonder if they'll indict owners and managers too? Theres no doubt in my mind that they didn't know this was going on. Keep digging!
I absolutely agree. They knew and are just as guilty for allowing it to happen. They did it just to make more money.
But that's exactly why Baseball still exists. It's popularity was shot post-strike. Plus, with the coming of the modern era of football, thanks to true free agency, and an NBA that was rising in popularity thanks to a man named Jordan, the slow game of baseball was dying. In come steroids, out went the ball from the field of play, and up went the popularity of the sport again. I believe the owners not only knew, but encouraged steroid use. I used to despise everything about steroids and the players who use them. These days, I've grown indifferent. Why? Because it's obvious that a vast majority of the league is doing them. Hell, all sports are in the same boat. It's no longer much of an advantage. My only real problem left is that my son has dreams of being a pro someday. If he manages that dream, I fear he'll turn to chemicals to improve his play. It's not even the cheating that concerns me, it's the long-term health effects that result. I'd still be concerned about the cheating, but at this point, the real question is: does it really give much of an advantage?
Putting advantage aside... It's a crime to take steriods in this country... they will kill you... Here's how I look at this, and I know it's a bit simplistic and naive... I remember when I was a kid we couldn't beat the Communist Block in anything, barring the miricle on ice.... we weren't even competitive.... why? because they were all on steriods.... and what was worse was they would shove our noses in it like we were inferior....then they'd go back to whatever oppressive country the came from... all the while they were cheating.... I for one never want American sports, especially our National Pastime, on the same level as Commie cheats... Silly? Probably. It's just the way I feel.
I don't disagree in any way, shape or form. The thing is, the WHOLE sport has to be cleaned up, not just Bonds. Then, I'll be satisfied. Otherwise, going after one or two guys here and there is not solving the problem.
Ummmmm....thats why the original US Atty was fired. Ineptitude. This is a witch hunt. No More. No Less. In Bonds defense, he hasn't been openly defiant about the situation. In fact quite the opposite. The prosecutors have leaked grand jury testimony (which is an offense similar in nature to what they are charging Bonds with). Both prosecutors have given media interviews about the situation, negatively impacting Bonds, a man who does after all make his $$$$$ in the entertainment field...... And in the final analysis, who did Bonds hurt ? Certainly not his employer, not the public, and not the government. But I guess, the Feds have done away with terrorism, illegal immigration, and violent crime in general, so that they can turn exorbitant resources to pursue this kind of thing....
Dam you are good.... I really thought I'd be happy the day Bonds go nailed but it's actually quite the opposite. I feel bad for the guy, I really feel bad for his children and his family. I'm on the same page as you and jack. This was a huge waste of our tax dollars. Living in Vegas we've had to deal with 4 days of OJ that were totally unnessacary but great for tv. All on the taxpayers of course. With Bonds I feel just like Marion Jones he should have to forfiet his records. She doped and got caught and had to give back her medals and had to forfiet her records, well Bonds doped, got caught so he should have to forfiet his records.
The real question, I think, is why are we making a big deal out this? Simply, if you had certain diseases that lend themselves to wasting, a doctor would prescribe the same compounds for you. There is no LEGITIMATE health issue involved. Overuse, and abuse are different things entirely, (the biggest example would be the cartoonish wrestling figures, that need tons of the stuff to stay that large and that ripped over time....HHH), but realistically, that the propoganda about steroids is even remotely believed is one of the reasons I use that new quote in my sig. Ephedra is another PERFECT example, of the propoganda machine....Did you know, that ephedra couldn't be gotten off the market place, because the FDA was cicrumscribed from interfering with herbs and vitamin supplements. At its zenith, the industry was selling (and the public consuming) 3 billion doses a year... And then Shane Bechler came along, a guy, it is interesting to note, had health related issues, long before he died. But, his carefully manipulated death, spurred an act of Congress to take the cheapest, most effective supplement to help people fight the nations growing FAT problem, off the market. I guess Pfizer didnt have a patent for the MaHuang herb..... But I digress....Steroids...take a guy like Bonds...(And here is why he is different than Giambi, and most of the others...like Mark 'I'm a Scarecrow' McGuire) He cycled on....put on 8 lbs....lost 5. Net 3. Back on, 8 more lbs....lose 5. Net 6. and so on and so forth...Responsible training resulting in retained growth... And I guess that's kind of my feeling on the matter....It isn't so much cheating, as it is, a component of Training. Realistically, do you think NFL players arent taking certain anti-inflammatories etc...to help them compete at a certain level over the course of a season????
Bonds hasn't been caught doing anything yet. And he isn't charged with the use/misuse of illegal drugs... And by the time Baseball got around to deciding the issue, Bonds was done training... see above.
