Roger Clemens gets a walk from perjury trial after inexplicable error

JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS -
Former Major League Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens stops to sign a baseball for a fan as he leaves the federal courthouse Friday.

On Thursday, the prosecution in the perjury case of United States v. Clemens committed an unforced gaffe so stunning that the sports world, and no doubt the legal community, will oscillate between pity and ridicule, incredulity and laughter, for years.