Brittney Griner verdict and sentencing imminent; prosecutors seek 9 1/2 years
Russian prosecutors requested a choose throughout closing arguments on Thursday to condemn Brittney Griner to 9 ½ years in jail, simply shy of the utmost 10 years that she is eligible to obtain.
Each a verdict and potential sentence within the WNBA star’s drug-smuggling trial are anticipated Thursday, her lawyer advised reporters.
Closing arguments ended with Griner herself having the ultimate phrase. Standing within the defendant’s cage in the back of the tiny courtroom, Griner took duty for her “mistake” and apologized to her household, her teammates and her Russian membership for “the embarrassment I introduced on them.”
“I by no means meant to harm anyone,” Griner stated. “I by no means meant to place in jeopardy the Russian inhabitants. I by no means meant to interrupt any legal guidelines right here. I made an sincere mistake and I hope that in your ruling that it doesn’t finish my life right here.
“I do know everyone retains speaking about political pawn and politics, however I hope that that’s removed from this courtroom,” Griner continued. “I need to say once more that I had no intent of breaking Russian legal guidelines. I had no intent. I didn’t conspire or plan to commit this crime.”
For Griner, a responsible verdict has been a close to certainty since even earlier than the WNBA star confessed to packing in too nice a rush and by accident taking vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her baggage. Not solely do Russian courts not often acquit defendants beneath any circumstances, the Kremlin additionally has incentive to protect its leverage in prisoner swap negotiations with the U.S.
Griner allegedly flew into Moscow on Feb. 17 carrying .702 grams of hashish oil. That’s lower than the burden of a pen cap or a stick of gum, but prosecutors allege it’s sufficient to satisfy the “vital quantity” threshold beneath article 229 of Russia’s legal code, which is punishable with a jail time period of 5 to 10 years.
For months, Griner and her supporters have pleaded with the Biden administration to dealer a take care of the Kremlin to safe her launch.
Thursday, Griner is predicted to find out how lengthy she might stay in Russian jail if these negotiations fizzle.
Yuval Weber, an professional in Russian navy and political technique, advised Yahoo Sports activities that he expects Griner to obtain the utmost doable sentence or near it. The best way Weber sees it, Russian authorities officers will dictate the size of Griner’s punishment based mostly on what’s going to permit them to extract probably the most out of the U.S. in negotiations for a prisoner swap or another concession.
“The longer her sentence, the extra fundamental leverage Russia has,” stated Weber, a distinguished fellow at Marine Corps College’s Brute Krulak Heart for Innovation and Future Warfare.
William Partlett, an affiliate professor at Melbourne Regulation College and an authority on Russian politics, advised Yahoo Sports activities that the court docket doesn’t must ship Griner to jail for 10 years for the Kremlin to barter a good commerce. A five-year sentence, in keeping with Partlett, would permit Russia to painting itself as “lenient” and “forgiving” to the remainder of the world whereas nonetheless sustaining the higher hand in negotiations with the U.S.
“The political calculus, which the Kremlin is aware of, is that Biden can’t let her sit in a Russian jail for that lengthy,” Partlett stated.
The one factor most specialists do agree on is that the choose presiding over Griner’s case gained’t be making an unbiased choice on her sentence. Excessive-ranking Kremlin officers, they argue, may have the ultimate say.
Describing Griner’s trial “solely theater,” Dartmouth College overseas coverage fellow Danielle Gilbert advised Yahoo Sports activities “we shouldn’t belief it like we’d belief a trial in the USA or different locations world wide.” Gilbert stated the “actual function” of the trial is to lend a veneer of legitimacy to Russia’s efforts to carry Griner for so long as mandatory whereas making calls for for her launch.
“I’m 100% satisfied that that is all about overseas coverage leverage,” Gilbert stated.
Similtaneously Griner’s trial has unfolded inside a cramped courtroom outdoors Moscow, the query of her destiny has additionally been mentioned on the highest ranges of U.S-Russian diplomacy. Final Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to urge him to accept the U.S.’s “substantial proposal” to secure the release of Griner and Paul Whelan, one other American whom the federal government considers wrongfully detained.
Blinken has declined to share particulars of the supply, however he has not denied stories that President Biden has signed off on buying and selling a infamous Russian arms trafficker with high-level authorities and navy intelligence connections. Viktor Bout is serving a 25-year sentence in an Illinois federal jail for conspiring to kill Individuals and promote weapons to Colombian terrorists.
Whereas Russian officers haven’t shot down the likelihood {that a} deal can finally be reached, they’ve insisted they gained’t entertain any supply till the conclusion of Griner’s trial.
William Pomeranz, an professional on Russian regulation and politics, predicted that the Kremlin gained’t be in any hurry to simply accept the Biden administration’s 2-for-1 supply for Bout. Whereas Biden is beneath growing home stress to free Griner, Vladimir Putin doesn’t face the identical degree of urgency to convey Bout house.
“The U.S. just about laid its playing cards on the desk, and now it’s the Russians who’re within the driver’s seat,” stated Pomeranz, the appearing director of the Kennan Institute. “They’ll now dictate whether or not this prisoner swap occurs and how briskly this strikes.”
On July 7, Griner confessed to inadvertently violating Russian law, telling the choose she packed in a rush and mistakenly introduced the vape cartridges together with her. Griner’s attorneys subsequently summoned character witnesses and introduced mitigating evidence to corroborate the WNBA star’s account.
The staff captain and staff director from Griner’s Russian basketball membership testified on her behalf and described her as an exemplary citizen on and off the court docket. Griner’s legal professionals additionally offered the court docket with an American physician’s letter saying that Griner had been prescribed medical marijuana to assist her deal with persistent ache from previous basketball accidents.
Tom Firestone, the previous resident authorized adviser on the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, advised Yahoo Sports activities that Griner’s authorized staff did “the correct issues beneath the circumstances” however admitted that it’s “exhausting to say” whether or not it can really assist scale back the WNBA star’s sentence. In any case, current marijuana circumstances involving Individuals in Russia have yielded all kinds of outcomes.
In 2019, New York faculty pupil Audrey Lorber spent lower than two months in jail after she allegedly entered Russia carrying 19 grams of marijuana. A Russian court docket discovered Lorber responsible of making an attempt to import marijuana, however she was launched with time served and exempted from paying a wonderful.
Final month, a Pennsylvania college trainer acquired a far harsher punishment. Marc Fogel was sentenced to 14 years in Russian jail after being caught with medical marijuana that he says he used to deal with a again damage.
“The Marc Fogel case is probably the most much like Brittney Griner’s,” Firestone stated. “He had a physician’s prescription, he expressed regret and he nonetheless acquired a 14-year sentence. That doesn’t augur effectively for Brittney.”
Gilbert, the Dartmouth overseas coverage fellow, as soon as assumed a Russian court docket would stick Griner with a equally exorbitant sentence. Then Gilbert started to rethink after a few puzzling moments throughout Griner’s trial that didn’t match the max-punishment narrative.
First, prosecutors revealed that Griner had lower than a gram of hash oil in her baggage on the time of her arrest. Then, Griner’s protection staff was allowed to name Russian witnesses to talk on her behalf.
“That, in some methods, is inconsistent with a present trial the place they’re going to smack her with the utmost doable sentence,” Gilbert stated. “It allowed me to think about a state of affairs the place they may go one other route.”
To Gilbert, what meaning isn’t that Griner has acquired a good trial. It’s that Russia could possibly be enjoying “3D chess.”
“It may additionally be a part of a method to make it appear to be this trial is reliable,” Gilbert stated. “In the event that they need to give her a lighter sentence, it could nonetheless be disproportionate to what she did and it is perhaps their method of attempting to faux to the remainder of the world that this isn’t a hostage taking. They need the remainder of the world to consider their authorized system is honest. A lighter sentence is perhaps a part of reputational administration.”
