Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Barry Lamar Bonds

 

Charge:

Obstruction of Justice

Sentence:

"30 days home confinement, two years supervised release, and 250 hours of community service"

Years Imprisoned:

0.08

Year Crime:

2003

Year Convicted:

2011

Year Cleared:

2015

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

California - Federal Case

County or Region of Crime:

San Francisco

City of Crime:

San Francisco

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"Barry Lamar Bonds was wrongfully convicted in 2011 of obstruction of justice during his testimony on December 4, 2003 to a federal grand jury convened to investigate the sale of steroids to athletes in order to determine whether the proceeds of the sales were being laundered. Bonds testified under a grant of immunity, and in response to a question he gave a rambling and vague response. Bonds was indicted on November 15, 2007 of four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice (for his rambling response). After a three-week trial in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, on April 13, 2011 Bonds was convicted of obstruction of justice, but none of the perjury counts. The prosecution's motion to dismiss one of the perjury counts after the close of evidence was granted, and the jury couldn't arrive at a verdict on the other three counts, which were subsequently dismissed when the government declined to retry Bonds. Bonds was sentenced to 30 days home confinement, two years supervised release, 250 hours of community service, and a $4,000 fine. His sentence was stayed pending his appeal. In 2013 a three-judge panel of judges in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Bonds' conviction. Bonds' motion for the Ninth Circuit's en banc review (by eleven judges) of that ruling was granted. On April 22, 2015 the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its en banc 10-1 majority ruling that vacated Barry Bonds' obstruction of justice conviction on the ground that the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence of his guilt. The Court also stated Bonds' retrial was barred by double jeopardy. On July 21, 2015 the U.S. Attorney's Office filed a motion with the Ninth Circuit Ct. of Appeals that it was not appealing the Court's ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. The motion will result in the dismissal of Bonds' indictment by a U.S. District Court judge."

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On April 22, 2015 the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Barry Bonds' obstruction of justice conviction on the ground that the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence of his guilt. The Court also stated Bonds' retrial was barred by double jeopardy."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

50

Age When Released:

50

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"USA V. Barry Bonds, No. 11-10669 (9th Cir, 4-22-2015) en banc (En banc ruling by a 10-1 vote, vacating obstruction of justice conviction on the ground the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence.)"

Information Location 1:

https://d3bsvxk93brmko.cloudfront.net/datastore/opinions/2015/04/22/11-10669.pdf

Information Source 2:

"Barry Bonds' obstruction of justice conviction overturned, By Maura Dolan (Reporter), Los Angeles Times, April 22, 2015"

Information Location 2:

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-barry-bonds-conviction-overturned-20150422-story.html

Information Source 3:

"US v. Bonds, 730 F. 3d 890 (9th Cir. 2013) (Three-judge panel affirmed conviction)"

Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

"Department of Justice drops Barry Bonds prosecution, By Associated Press (San Francisco), ESPN.com, July 21, 2015"

Information Location 4:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/13295151/barry-bonds-criminal-prosecution-formally-dropped-department-justice-conviction

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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