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Brittney Griner found guilty on drug possession charges, sentenced to 9 years in Russian prison [1]

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Date: 2022-08-04

Griner’s sentence hasn’t been released at the time of writing. Before her verdict was given, Griner did address the court and said she must have placed the vape cartridge in her luggage by mistake.

"I made an honest mistake,” Griner said. “And I hope that in your ruling that it doesn't end my life here.”

While possession of cannabis is illegal in Russia under all circumstances, Griner’s defense team stressed she does have a medical marijuana card here in the United States as a result of injuries from long-term injuries from basketball. Defense attorney Maria Blagovolin argued that Griner has actually never failed a drug test and that her small use at home doesn’t suggest an intent to sell or disperse in Russia. Her defense attorney argued for Griner to be acquitted. If not an acquittal, they asked for her to receive leniency.

“I want to also apologize to my parents, my siblings, the Phoenix Mercury organization back at home, the amazing women of the WNBA, and my amazing spouse back at home,” Griner said in part, per the Huffington Post. She went on to add that she hopes “politics” and “political pawn” discourse is “far from this courtroom” and that had no “no intent” of breaking laws in Russia, and did not “conspire” or plan to commit the crime.

Why was Griner in Russia, to begin with? She plays on a Russian team there during the off-season to make more money. In spite of being one of the best athletes in contemporary sports, Griner’s WNBA salary tops her off at just over $200,000 per year, which, while more than many folks make, is laughably small compared to what players in the NBA earn. So Griner has traveled to Russia for years in order to play on their teams.

Folks have speculated that Griner’s best move, no matter what actually happened, would be to plead guilty. Why? A couple of reasons might make sense. First of all, Russia has an exceptionally high rate of finding people guilty (some say as high as 99%). Second, many people are worried Griner is essentially being held and used as a political pawn in order to orchestrate a prisoner exchange, with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout being the most popular name tossed around. Officials in Russia have said any prisoner exchange could only happen after Griner’s trial, so some think she might be trying to get it over with sooner rather than later to up those chances.

Again: We don’t know what we don’t know. But we do know Griner is an openly gay Black woman in a country that is not safe or friendly for her. We do know she could spend close to a decade in prison there. We do know this isn’t reasonable, ethical, or, frankly, safe.

We do know Griner deserves to come home.

Update: President Joe Biden released a statement on Griner’s detainment and sentence, as follows:

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/4/2114479/-Brittney-Griner-found-guilty-on-drug-possession-charges-in-Russia

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