It is indeed a very hard task for the 12 man jury to decide on the steroid perjury case of Barry Bonds. After 3 days of deliberations, the panel has not come up with a decision and continues to ponder on the details of the case. The jury already reheard two pieces of evidences that is centered on Barry Bonds’ injection count. Observers of this steroid case were right when they said it would be the injection issue that will put the panel into deeper discussions. Others also predict that Bonds could get away with other counts but not with his claim that he was not injected by any other person except his doctor.

Jury Reheard Two Key Evidences

The two key evidences were the testimony of Kathy Hoskins, Bonds’ personal shopper and Steve Hoskins, a former business associate. Steve is the brother of Kathy and both were childhood friends of Bonds. Steve provided the government with secret recordings where Greg Anderson admitted he injected Bonds with anabolic steroids. Kathy also testified that she saw, in one instance, Anderson injected Bonds with something.

However, there were some inconsistencies in testimonies of the two witnesses. Steve claimed that his sister confided to him that she saw the injection many times but his sister denied it. Kathy was not able to confirm if the injection is really a banned substance like anabolic steroid or human growth hormone. Steve claimed that he told the personal doctor of Bonds about the use of anabolic steroid of the baseball slugger. However, this was denied by Dr. Arthur Ting.

The doctor testified that he did not recall any instance where Steve discussed to him the alleged steroid use of Bonds. He admitted that he prescribed Bonds with corticosteroids, another type of steroid, to treat his injuries. This drug is not illegal. Corticosteroids can also cause side effects similar to anabolic steroids said the doctor.

The motive of Steve Hoskins is also questionable. According to the defense, Steve reported Bonds’ alleged steroid use when the baseball slugger reported his illegal transactions with the FBI. Steve also forced his sister to testify against Bonds.

Longest Jury Deliberation

Deliberation of the jury in Bonds’ steroid trial is the longest says legal observers. Juries that heard cases in the BALCO scandal did not experienced the same situation in Barry Bonds’ case. The extension is an indication that there is a deadlock or some juries are still holding out because they are strict constitutionalists. Robert Talbot, a law professor in the University of San Francisco, believes the delay is caused by disagreement among the jurors. He contends that the jury knows it is a serious case and they need to come out with a carefully crafted decision. “Jurors are really wrestling with the facts and going over everything,” said Peter Keane of the Golden Gate University.

Mistrial

However, Keane told the media that the delay should not be construed as a mistrial or will end in a hung jury. “You can’t read anything into it. Nobody knows what is happening in the jury room. Anybody who tries to make a prediction based on the fact that the jury has been out for three days is just shooting in the dark,” Keane told the Daily News. The law professor noted that the rehearing of the testimony of Kathy Hoskins is a bad sign for Bonds’ camp. He said Kathy is a very credible witness.

Though Kathy did not prove it is a steroid injection, it could be enough to convince the jury that Bonds lied when he said only his doctor injected him.

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