Jury selection began on Monday in the perjury retrial of former Major League Baseball star pitcher Roger Clemens, who is charged with lying when he denied taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Only two witnesses had been called last July when US District Judge Reggie Walton declared a mistrial because prosecutors presented evidence that had already been ruled inadmissible.
Federal prosecutors will try to show Clemens was lying when he told a 2008 US Congressional hearing that he never took human growth hormones (HGH) and steroids.
Former trainer Brian McNamee testified at the same hearing that he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing substances.
Andy Pettite, who has come out of retirement to make a Major League Baseball comeback with the New York Yankees, is expected to testify. In 2008, he told investigators that Clemens had admitted taking HGH but Clemens said his former teammate mis-remembered the conversation.
If convicted, Clemens could face 30 years in prison and a fine of $1.5 million, although sentencing guidelines would suggest he receive somehwere between 15 and 21 months behind bars.
Clemens won 354 games in a 24-year career that saw him win seven Cy Young Awards as the top pitcher in his league. Nicknamed "Rocket", he is one of only four pitchers to have recorded more than 4,000 strikeouts in his career.
Clemens won the World Series twice with the Yankees in 1999 and 2000. He also played for Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros.
Source: AFP American Edition
