Roger Clemens and definitions of perjury and indictment
Roger Clemens has been indicted on perjury and other charges related to his 2008 hearing when he provided a testimony regarding his use, or lack of use, of steroids.
Before you start recounting this story, you should really make sure you’re aware of some definitions.
“Indict” is a formal accusation of wrongdoing1, so don’t confuse the word with “convicted” which relates to the finding of guilt. At this point, Clemens has simply been charged with wrongdoing.
“Perjury” is “willful and corrupt taking of a false oath in regard to a material matter in a judicial proceeding.”2 In other words, it’s lying under oath.
It will be difficult to find Clemens guilty of perjury, because according to sites like freeadvice.com,
“Perjury prosecutions stemming from civil lawsuits are particularly rare. This is because it is difficult to prove that someone is intentionally misstating a material fact, rather than simply testifying honestly from faulty memory.”
Clemens claimed that teammate Andy Pettitte “misremembered” a conversation with him regarding steroids, so it will be interesting to see if Clemens can now simply claim that whatever false statements he made during his testimony was simply a case of “misremembering” as well.
Read on:
Newsday.com – Roger Clemens indicted on perjury charges
Time.com – Three Strikes? Clemens To Be Indicted for Perjury
(image above from NYTimes.com by Doug Mills)
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