The decision of the jury on the steroid case of Barry Bonds is not a complete victory for the prosecution. After several years of fighting in court and spending millions, the government was able to prove one charge, that Bonds misled the grand jury in the BALCO investigation in 2003. Judge Susan Illston ruled; the America’s home run king was guilty of obstruction of justice.

But what about the other charges? Barry Bonds was also tried for making false statements but the jury, after 4 days of deliberations, could not reach a unanimous decision on the 3 counts. Judge Susan Illston declared a mistrial on these charges. Bonds was accused of lying about his use of anabolic steroid and human growth hormone and about his claim that no one except his doctor performed injections on him.

The defense, led by Allen Ruby, said the prosecution failed to prove that Bonds lied about his steroids use. Though he was convicted of obstruction of justice, the charge did not mention about his use of performance enhancing drugs. Instead, the jury found Bonds guilty of one of the seven statements in the obstruction of justice charge. The former San Francisco Giants was found guilty for not telling the grand jury about his childhood as the son of Bobby Bonds, a major leaguer, and his relationship with Greg Anderson, his personal trainer.

Legal experts predicted that Bonds could be convicted for lying about his use of steroids and claims that he was never injected by any other person except his doctor. However, the evidences and testimonies presented by the government failed to convince the jury.

The home run king showed no emotion when the verdict was read by the clerk of court. Defense lawyers instructed Bonds not to make comments as the case is not yet over. When asked by reporters if they will celebrate the partial victory, Bonds replied that there’s nothing to celebrate. The defense lawyers immediately asked Judge Susan Illston to throw out the verdict but the judge did not heed to the request of the defense. Instead, she set a status hearing on May 20. The sentencing date may also be finalized during the hearing. It is not yet clear whether the prosecution will retry Bonds on the unresolved counts.

Barry Bonds is the last prominent athlete who was charged for receiving designer steroids from the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative. Victor Conte, founder of BALCO and was convicted of illegal distribution of steroids, found the verdict non-sense. “This verdict absolutely makes no sense to me. Of all of these counts, the one that makes the least sense to me is the obstruction charge. Tell me how there was obstruction of justice,” he told USAToday.

Conte contends that the government already sent him to prison. “This is all about the selected persecution of Barry Bonds. This is not fair. I was the heavy in this. I accepted full responsibility and the consequences and went to prison. How is that obstruction? Doesn’t make sense,” he added.

Barry Bonds hold the home run record in baseball with 762 home runs. He is eligible in the Hall of Fame but with this conviction, his fate will definitely change.

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