A short, condensed recap:
Clemens is charged with perjury, swearing under oath that he never took performance enhancing drugs (PEF). His former trainer, Brian McNamee, says he personally administered PEF to Clemens. Former teammate, Andy Pettitte claims Clemens admitted taking them. Clemens says he only received B-12 shots from McNamee.
That, dear Readers, is the case summary in a cuckoo-shell. Now, hold on and come for the ride, for this is the skinny. And, remember, you first heard it here.
Perjury means means lying. To lie means to intentionally utter a falsehood. Intentionally means knowing you are uttering a falsehood. Therefore, the prosecution must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, not just that Clemens said something untrue, but that he knew he was saying something false.
McNamee's credibility will be put into serious question. The defense will attempt to show a motive for blackmailing Clemens with fabricated evidence i,e, to recoup heavy financial losses as a result of a rape investigation. (Hard to believe? See the Casey Anthony case.) Witnesses will swear that McNamee's reputation for truth and veracity is so bad that when he was born, the doctor didn't know which end to slap.
The scale-tipper will be the testimony of Andy Pettitte. IF he is not 100% sure that Clemens flat-out admitted taking PED---IF he says that Clemens may have only said that he was given "shots" by McNamee (after all, with the passage of time, the line of demarcation between different versions becomes blurred) then, at the time of his alleged perjury, Clemens may have honestly believed he was telling the truth. He did not knowingly make a false statement and no crime was committed. He said "no PED", believing that he had been injected only with B-12. And, all there need be is a reasonable doubt, in this regard.
Clemens is an American sports legend. A hero to baseball fans everywhere. His autograph will be sought after whenever the judge isn't on the bench.
Not exactly the trappins' for a hangin'.
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