Brittney Griner Stuck In Russian Prison For Entire Sentence, Appeal Denied

Brittney Griner’s appeal has been denied and it looks like she will be spending all 9 years of her sentence in a Russian prison.

The 32-year-old lost whatever hope she had left today after the appeal was denied. Griner appeared videoconferencing from inside her jail cell. She moved around as much as possible in the small cell, regularly sitting and standing likely out of nerves.

Griner looked stoic with no expression on her face. She and her team had been hopeful that this was it for Griner and that the next time they saw her would maybe be in person returning home. That obviously wasn’t the case and now the team of attorneys is back to the drawing board to see what other options they possibly have if any at all after this.

The professional WNBA player was arrested in Russia in February 2022 for possessing cannabis oil in her luggage while traveling from New York to Moscow. She was officially sentenced in August to the harsh nine-year sentence after a trial that lasted a weeklong.

Her lawyers immediately filed an appeal citing that the punishment was too harsh for the crime while they were somewhat aware that the appeal would likely be denied it was still a blow to the morale of the lawyers and especially Griner.

Griner initially pleaded guilty to the accusation of bringing the hashish oil into the country, but she insisted that it wasn’t intentional.

Russia seems to be not willing to let WNBA player go no matter what. President Biden attempted to negotiate with Russia enticing them with a prisoner swap. In exchange for Viktor Bout, a Russian prisoner serving 25 years in an American prison for arms trafficking, they want back Griner and American prisoner Paul Whelan.

The result of this deal clearly wasn’t good because Griner is still sitting in a shotty Russian prison looking downtrodden and losing hope. One thing that Griner is hanging onto is her wife’s support. Cherelle Griner has been extremely hopeful about her wife’s imprisonment, and the struggle it has been to get justice for Brittney.

Chernelle wrote a post on Instagram detailing the love and admiration she has for her wife. "We love you babe! People say 'stay busy.' Yet, there's not a task in this world that could keep any of us from wondering if you are safe,” she writes.

"My heart, our hearts, are all skipping beats every day that goes by without hearing from you I miss your voice. I miss your presence. You're our person! There are no words to express this pain. I'm hurting, we're hurting. We await the day to love on you as a family."

Hopefully, Biden can work some of that charm and get Griner back on U.S. soil.