Renowned WNBA player Brittney Griner has been sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison for smuggling cannabis into the country.
The judge found the sports star guilty of the crime on Thursday and declared her punishment in the form of a jail sentence.
The superstar was seen pleading for mercy and forgiveness in front of the judge but that made no difference as the ruling had already been finalized.
“It was an honest mistake, I hope your ruling doesn’t end my life!”- the player was seen crying inside the court.
The 31-year-old continued to mention how she did not wish to be used as any form of a political pawn in the ongoing tensions taking place between both Russia and the US.
Griner was arrested from the country’s capital city of Moscow upon arrival at the airport when her baggage was found to contain cannabis, which is a banned or illegal substance.
But the player argued that it was given to her by medical professionals to alleviate her pain and for nothing else. But that just was not good enough for the jury who found her guilty of the crime and have now announced her punishment.
The player did acknowledge her mistake but says it was unintentional and hoped she wouldn’t be held guilty for her behavior.
This particular incident took place in February of this year when the player’s wife was seen pleading to the Biden administration to intervene before it was too late.
Griner’s baggage contained a vape pen that had cannabis inside, which Russia called inexcusable behavior and a clear case of smuggling.
At the moment, the White House has been unable to negotiate any form of a deal involving the basketball player despite rumors of a possible prisoner exchange taking place with Russia.
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