Jury gets Clemens case

WASHINGTON, June 12 (UPI) -- A jury in Washington began deliberation Tuesday but did not reach a verdict in the perjury trial of former baseball great Roger Clemens.

The jury met for just 15 minutes and will resume deliberation Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. EDT, USA Today reported.

Clemens, a Hall of Famer and seven-time Cy Young Award winner for played for Boston, Toronto, New York Yankees and Houston, is accused of lying to Congress during sworn testimony in 2008, when he denied having used steroids and human growth hormone.

Clemens' defense team said the prosecution's main witness -- Brian McNamee, who once worked as strength and conditioning coach for the New York Yankees -- lied during the trial when he testified he injected Clemens with steroids and HGH.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gil Guerrero told the jury in his closing argument the prosecution has proved Clemens made 13 false and misleading statements before Congress. Another prosecutor, Courtney Saleski, acknowledged McNamee's flaws but said the prosecution had proved Clemens lied about using performance enhancing substances.

Clemens' attorney, Rusty Hardin, presented the jury with a chart he said proved McNamee either lied or did not tell the whole truth on more than two dozen occasions, USA Today reported.

Hardin said Clemens had been truthful when he testified to Congress he never took steroids or HGH. He acknowledged Clemens' congressional testimony many not have been entirely accurate, but only because of faulty memory.

"He was a Cy Young ballplayer," Hardin said, "not a Cy Young witness."