Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony yesterday after a judge found her guilty on drug smuggling and possession charges.
Griner apologized and asked the judge in closing statements not to hand down the 9 1/2-year prison term prosecutors requested moments before as her court case closed in Russia, six months after her airport arrest with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.
Griner was convicted of “deliberately” bringing narcotics into the country with criminal intent, downplaying the statement from Griner that she made an “honest mistake.”