Brittney Griner: Here are the legal options available for WNBA star jailed for 9 years in Russia
Brittney Griner was arrested this year in February after the police reportedly found cannabis oil in her bags. While she pleaded guilty in July to a drug smuggling charge, she said that she never intended to violate Russian law. While her prison term was expected to be up to 10 years, she was sentenced to a whopping 9 years in a Russian prison on Thursday, August 4, and Griner's legal team is not happy with the sentencing. What are Griner's legal options from here on?
The 31-year-old WNBA star's legal team, comprising Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, told People hours after the judgment was handed, "We are very disappointed and very upset by this verdict. Sentences for this article of the criminal court, they usually not so severe. Usually, it's like five and a half or six years. So nine years, it's pretty unusual, and it contradicts the existing court practice in Russia." Blagovolina adds, "That's why we are really disappointed and very much surprised by this decision by the court." If Griner's legal team has to appeal the sentence, they must do so within 10 days. Talking about whether it would make a difference for Griner's prison term, she said, "We need to use every legal opportunity that we have, and appeal is one of these opportunities."
