Barry Bonds' Trial Begins

Jury selection began this morning in Barry Bonds' perjury trial, roughly three years after he was originally indicted for lying to a grand jury about his steroid use.  While Bonds did not deny that he took steroids, he denied that he knowingly took steroids.  He is facing four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice for lying to a federal grand jury in 2003 (he was testifying in connection with an investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, otherwise known as BALCO).

The jury pool for the trial started with a little more than a hundred people, but has been cut down by 40 already. US District Judge Susan Illston called a recess to consider the prosecutors' request to dismiss another 10 jurors.  After the slight break, she returned to tell the court that she expects to have just enough people to fill the jury.

There are mixed reactions over whether or not the government should be taking Bonds to trial.  Some people believe that the trial is a waste of federal funds, as Bonds is disgraced already and many people presume his guilt.  Others feel as though he should be punished for breaking federal laws.  I agree with the latter.  He broke a law and he deserves to be punished for it.  Now let's get Bonds' name erased from the record books.  Long live the rightful home run king, Henry Aaron.

Check out these Sports Illustrated articles to see how the prosecution and the defense will approach Bonds' trial:

The Barry Bonds trial: Laying out the case for the prosecution

The Barry Bonds trial: Laying out the case for the defense