 Brittney Griner’s case in Russia has been completed. She has been found guilty, and officially sentenced to nine years in prison.
We’re going to go into detail on the controversy surrounding the case, including the criticism of Griner, and the fact that the US is supporting her case while thousands of Americans are also jailed in US prisons for the same thing. There are a lot of strong emotions surrounding this case, and a lot of valid points to consider. Earlier today in the Moscow court, Prosecutors wrapped up their case against Griner, and asked a judge to sentence Brittney Griner to 9 ½ years in prison, which is just short of the maximum 10 years that she is eligible to receive. Griner’s defense team was able to then offer their closing statements, with Griner using this time to apologize to her Russian team, to her fans and to her family, for the “embarrassment she caused them." Griner said that had no intention to break the Russian law and that she made a mistake, adding, "That’s why I pled guilty to my charges. I understand everything that’s been said against me, the charges that are against me and that is why I pled guilty, but I had no intent to break any Russian laws.” "I made an honest mistake, and I hope that in your ruling, that it doesn't end my life here.” Judge Anna Sotnikova handed down the verdict at about 11:30 am Eastern Standard Time today, Thusday, August 4th. Just after the verdict, President Biden issued a statement saying, “Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney. It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates.” US National Security Council Director for Strategic Communications John Kirby echoed President Joe Biden’s comments Thursday, calling for Brittney Griner's immediate release. “This sentence, this trial just reaffirms what we have been saying all along: Brittney has been wrongfully detained and she needs to be immediately released by Russian authorities so she can be home with her wife, her teammates, and her friends and family and the President is going to stay 100% committed to achieving that outcome,” Kirby said during an appearance on MSNBC. He pointed to the United States' “serious proposal” for a prisoner swap with the Russians. “We urge the Russians, again, to seriously consider that proposal, to act on it. And let’s get these two Americans home where they belong.” Recently, the US Government reached out to Russian officials to propose a prisoner swap: Griner and former marine Paul Whelan, who is jailed in Russia for alleged spy charges, which he denies and says are trumped up, in exchange for Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer called the “merchant of death”. Bout was sentenced in 2011 to 25 years in jail. He has so far now served eleven years behind bars. The Russian officials said they would not consider discussing a trade until after the verdict was reached. Now that it has, they perhaps will respond to the offer from the U.S. The results of any negotiations will wait to be seen. Ms. Griner’s incarceration in Russia has been a top news story since her arrest in February. There have been arguments against assisting her, saying that she broke the laws of Russia and so therefore we shouldn’t help her. People have also pointed to Griner’s political activism and stances as reason to not help her. A reporter on the OAN network called Griner, “An American hating lesbian pothead,” and that she “spit on the flag and national anthem.” That person is referring to the time during the summer of 2020 when the black lives matter movement first took foot, responding to deaths of George Zimmerman, Treyvon Martin, and Breonna Taylor. At the time, Griner was outspoken in support of drawing attention to racial injustices in this country, and felt that a way to draw attention to the issue would be to protest the National Anthem, as she did not feel black Americans such as herself were being given the same equality and protections as other, white Americans. She said, “I’m going to protest regardless. I’m not going to be out there for the national anthem,” she said. “If the league continues to want to play it, that’s fine. It will be all season long, I’ll not be out there. I feel like more are going to probably do the same thing. I can only speak for myself.” And, for the record, Griner has never said she hates this country. On the 4th of July Griner sent a letter to President Biden asking for help, and writing, ‘On the 4th of July, our family normally honors the service of those who fought for our freedom, including my father who is a Vietnam War Veteran. It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year.’ She also said, “I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you [President Biden]. I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore.” Brittney Griner has volunteered and worked with many causes since her rookie season, in particular, she’s championed the causes of homeless people as well as the LGBTQ+ youth communities being a priority. Additionally, she has raised money for COVID-19 relief, and Arizona animal shelters, where her American team, the Phoenix Mercury, is based. Ex UFC fighter Tim Kennedy expressed his disdain for the way she expressed her political perspective, but he also acknowledged that speaking your mind politically is an American’ citizen’s right, writing on instagram, "Do you remember that time that you were protesting your own government and even requesting that the National Anthem not be played at your games then going back to this same government and pleading that they intervene on your behalf to get you out of a Russian prison after you illegally brought drugs into their country. Does not get more ironic than this. Even with her despicable behavior I do believe that every American is worth fighting for even those that hate their own country." Former President Trump said, “She went in there loaded up with drugs into a hostile territory where they’re very vigilant about drugs. They don’t like drugs. And she got caught. And now we’re supposed to get her out — and she makes, you know, a lot of money, I guess. It certainly doesn’t seem like a very good trade, does it? [Bout is] an absolute — one of the worst in the world, and he’s going to be given his freedom because a potentially spoiled person goes into Russia loaded up with drugs.” Trump said twice that Ms. Griner was ‘loaded up’ with drugs, but as a reminder, she only had a couple of vape cartridges that contained a few grams of cannabis oil… which doesn’t really qualify as ‘loaded up.’ Trump also called her a “potentially spoiled person” and mentioned she made a lot of money. It’s discouraging to hear him dismiss her based on her personal income, her personality trait of allegedly being ‘spoiled’, and because of the subject of cannabis. Trump isn’t the only one to point out her money or status. One paper said, “under no circumstances should the Democratic Party's identity politics allow a black lesbian millionaire athlete who broke the law in a foreign country to receive preferential treatment.” What color she is, what sexual orientation she is, how much money she is, and her job as an athlete have nothing to do with her place as a political prisoner. No one refers to Paul Whelan as a “white, straight, middle-class income, corporate security officer,” and instead they only call him “ex-marine”. Paul Whelan is a former marine. He was a corporate security officer. Maybe he ws a spy. That certainly would not and should not be something the U.S. government would disclose. So maybe he was guilty, and maybe he was not. But it shouldn’t matter. He is a U.S. citizen being held in a foreign, hostile, jail. The U.S. should get him out. The same with Griner. She is a U.S. citizen being held as a polticial pawn by the hostile Russian government during a time of extreme tension with America. The U.S. needs to get her out. They both need to be returned to the U.S. No matter their situations. It is vitally important for America versus Russia, and her fame, in both countries is the biggest beacon at this time. In Russia, Griner has been a basketball hero there, and they are completely using her name for their political prowess. Politicians from both parties have said getting Griner out of Russia is a priority. Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Joel Rubin told Fox News Digital, "If you think you can get there and get the people out, you take it.” Rubin served in both the Bush and Obama administrations. He said the U.S. can track and monitor Viktor Bout after his release, and find ways to "mitigate future damage" if he does return to Russia. Officials have pointed out that any negotiations are expected to take some time. One said, “The ball is in Russia’s court” right now. It’s believed that Russia will continue to use Griner as a political pawn and milk the situation as long as they can to attempt to draw attention to their power over the U.S. in this situation. We will have to continue to wait for updates on how potential negotiations unfold. In the mean time, many people have continued to point out that she is not the only one in jail for cannabis, and that in fact, there are tens of thousands of people in American jails right now for the same reason. They have also pointed out the irony of the situation, given that Griner is in jail for a few grams of cannabis oil, and the U.S. is working hard to free her, and yet… there are tens of thousands of people sitting in American jails right now for the same reason, and no government officials appear to be fighting for them as hard as for Griner. Last week, Elon Musk tweeted in response to Griner’s case; “Maybe free some people in jail for weed here too?” with a meme about the situation expressing frustration for those incarcerated in America, who are watching the efforts to free the one celebrity. Musk does support Brittney, as he tweeted last month “Free Brittney,” but he also clearly realizes that there are more that need attention, too. In 2020, Musk tweeted about the irony of the cannabis legalization situation in our country, saying, “Selling weed literally went from major felony to essential business (open during pandemic) in much of America and yet many are still in prison, doesn’t make sense, isn’t right.” Joe Rogan also recently talked about the Griner’s case, and the fact that she’s not the only one, on his hugely popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. Like Musk, Rogan clearly supports Griner, calling her imprisonment “horrific,” but he is also extremely frustrated that the people in American jails for cannabis are not getting the same attention, saying “no one should be in jail for weed.” Rogan said, "She's [Griner] already been over there for months. But here's what's important: People are freaking out about this, right? They're freaking out. 'Russia needs to let her go.' We have people in America right now locked up for marijuana, and they've been locked up for f***ing years – for years and years and years. There's not one, there's thousands of them. So what, they're not good at throwing a ball into a net? Is that what it is? They're not good at that one thing that we like to watch, so those f***ing people don't get let out?" According to the Last Prisoner Project, there have been 15.7 million people arrested for marijuana offenses in the last two decades. On their website, they write: “Imagine sitting in a cell for years, decades, or even for life, convicted of an activity that is no longer a crime, while thousands of other people build intergenerational wealth doing exactly the same thing. That is the situation that tens of thousands of cannabis prisoners face today in the United States alone, while countless others languish in jails and prisons worldwide.” The Last Prisoner Project has one singular mission: to set them free. Their mission statement says, “WE WILL NOT REST AND WE WILL NOT STOP UNTIL THE LAST CANNABIS PRISONER IS SET FREE.” President Biden has said he does not support cannabis legalization, but he does say he doesn’t think anyone should be in jail for it. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) doesn’t seem to agree. In 2020, they recorded 4,992 cannabis related arrests. Those figures rose 25% the next year, 2021, leading to the highest number of federal arrests for cannabis in a decade. Right now, there is a tremendous amount of frustration surrounding these issues and there is not an immediate answer. What we can do, though, is to continue to speak about the issue, and continue to draw attention to the inconsistencies with cannabis incarcerations. Ms. Griner’s case is a spearhead on the matter, with her fame, and the United State’s tensions with Russia drawing focus on the subject. By speaking about Ms. Griner's case, we can also draw attention to the tens of thousands of other Americans who are also in jail for cannabis. For more information: https://www.lastprisonerproject.org/ Comments are closed.
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