I'm not a lawyer, and I've never played one on TV. I won't pretend to understand all the complexities of our legal system. Yet it doesn't take a law degree to see how badly the prosecution botched this one.
After years of investigation and build up, the Roger Clemens perjury trial ended rather quickly and uneventfully. The case was thrown out after being a ruled a mistrial when the prosecution introduced banned evidence. The video shown to the jury included footage of Elijah Cummings referring to former Yankees pitcher Andy Pettite regarding conversations he had with his wife, Laura, about Clemens and steroid use. The judge had already ruled that Laura Pettite's testimony was not admissible because she never had any direct conversations with Clemens on the subject of steroid use. When the video showed Cummings quoting Laura's statement that her husband had told her about Clemens' use of HGH, the judge quickly cut off the tape. If Laura Pettite was not allowed to testify, then clearly a statement from Cummings quoting her was not admissible.
Perhaps the prosecution "misremembered" that they weren't allowed to do that.
“I would think that a first-year law student would know that you can’t bolster the credibility of one witness with clearly inadmissible evidence,’’ said Judge Walton. Well that really makes the Feds look foolish. They really dropped the ball on their chance to make a statement on the issue of steroid use in baseball. A high profile case condemning one of the game's all time greats would have gone a long way towards keeping the game clean. Yet despite mounds of evidence supporting claims that Clemens had lied in court about steroid use, with the proverbial smoking gun in his hand, the prosecution was unable to win the case due to a rookie mistake. That's just embarrassing.
Throw out all the evidence, the used syringes and gauze pads, the parade of celebrity witnesses and the testimony from former trainer Brian McNamee. None of it matters now. Clemens is off the hook.
Sure, there's a hearing scheduled for September 2nd for the judge to decide whether the "double jeopardy" amendment prevents Clemens from being re-tried. Does it really matter? The Feds did so much damage to their case that they'd be hard pressed to get a conviction at this point. This trial has already proved to be a waste of tax payer's money, so why drag this out longer and waste more? There are certainly still those that want to see Clemens punished, but at what cost? The legal system has bigger fish to fry than a former ball player that may have lied about cheating. Clemens' fame turned this into a high profile case, but in the grand scheme of things it's importance to society is underwhelming. The Feds had their chance and they blew it. It's time to move on.
For now, Clemens is off the hook in terms of possible jail time, but that doesn't mean he goes unpunished. He has already been found guilty in the court of public opinion. His legacy is tarnished, his reputation in ruins. His 354 wins, 7 Cy Young awards and World Series ring have been overshadowed by his lies and deceit. It doesn't matter that a flawed legal system failed to find justice, we all know what Clemens did to extend the "twilight of his career." Or at least we think we know, and that's all that matters.
Clemens will forever have his name linked to controversy, placing him in the same boat as other shamed stars like Bonds and McGuire. Regardless of the outcome in court, the perception most people have of him as a liar and a cheater could still keep him out of the Hall of Fame. He may be a free man, but he's not free of judgement from fans and voters that will never look at him the same way.
Perhaps some day the steroid era will be looked at differently. One day we may realize that steroid use was just an unfortunate trend of the era. In the history of the sport, players have always looked for some sort of edge to get ahead, so this is nothing new. Before steroids, players took amphetamines. Before that, pitchers would use spit, tar or scuff up the ball in order to alter the break of the pitch. We already have "cheaters" in the Hall of Fame, so perhaps one day players like Clemens will be viewed the same way. Sure it was wrong of him to do, but that's just how the sport was in those days. The game evolves and we move on. With advancements in training, nutrition and medicine, it's impossible to fairly compare players of today to those of 25, 50 or 100 years ago.
For now, Clemens is safe from legal prosecution, but it won't be until our perception changes regarding how the steroid era really impacted baseball that Clemens will really be off the hook.
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