Marion Jones sentenced to six months in prison

Marion Jones has been sentenced to six months behind bars for lying about using steroids and a check-fraud scam.

Marion Jones sentenced to six months in prison Olympian athlete Marion Jones was sentenced today to six months in prison for lying about using steroids and for lying about her knowledge of a check-fraud scheme, involving Tim Montgomery (father of her son), her agent Charles Wells and former coach Steve Riddick, all three have already been convicted in a scheme to cash millions of dollars worth of stolen or forged checks. "I ask you to be as merciful as a human being can be," Marion Jones told the judge, pleading not to be separated from her kids, but the mercy of the court extended as far as six months behind bars.

Marion Jones, who won three Olympic gold medals and two bronze, admitted of lying to federal investigators about using steroid, often referred to as "the clear", in October of 2007 and also retired officially from the sport. Jones remains to this day the biggest name in sports to be brought down as part of the federal investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, also known as the BALCO case. Baseball legend Barry Bonds is currently under investigation in the same case, grand jury still looking into whether Bonds also lied to the feds.

Published on 01/11/2008