Barry Bonds Sentenced To Extremely Lenient Sentence In Obstruction Case

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Oh, this American justice system…

A federal judge Friday sentenced baseball slugger Barry Bonds to probation, 30 days’ confinement in his Beverly Hills home and community service, but put the sentence on hold pending Bonds’ appeal of his felony obstruction of justice conviction.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, who presided over Bonds’ perjury trial, said “the jury got it exactly right” when it convicted Bonds in April for evasive testimony to a federal grand jury investigating doping in professional sports.

“Mr. Bonds made an effort to obstruct justice here,” Illston said, but “he didn’t manage to succeed.”

She added that the government investigation changed the sports world by launching new testing programs and transforming public attitudes.

Prosecutors urged Illston to “send a message” by sending the former San Francisco Giants star to prison.

In addition to home confinement, Bonds, 47, was sentenced to two years’ probation, ordered to perform 250 hours community service in youth-related activities and pay a $4,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Matthew A. Parrella called the sentence “a slap on the wrist” and derided the fine as “almost laughable. ”

For a man with a mansion, Parrella told the court, home detention was “simply no deterrence.”

Illston followed the recommendations of a federal probation officer who reviewed the case. She said she was impressed by Bonds’ charitable activities, both in time and money, over decades.