I asked some students what comes to mind when I say Russian Prison. Demagorgans,
violence, dungeons, cold, and secure are just some words students use when describing what
they think it would be like. American WNBA player and two-time gold medalist Brittney Griner
has been held in Russian authority since February this year. She was traveling to Russia to
meet up with her club team when she was stopped at security for some pot cartridges
containing less than a gram of hash oil. She pleaded guilty to her possession charge but said in
court she had no criminal intent and was in a rush packing. Her lawyer then also brought a US
doctor’s note to the court explaining he had prescribed her medical marijuana, which is not legal
in Russia, to help with some pain.

Russia is not being cooperative with the US in negotiating a
prisoner trade because of the events taking place in Ukraine and the US not agreeing to help
Russia take over. They asked for a prisoner trade with someone who is not being held in the
US, but in a German Prison which is not possible. Tuesday, October 25th she was rejected of
appeal and is starting her 9-year sentence in Russia. Her attorneys stated, “This result is not
what we expected…. We still think the punishment is excessive and contradicts the existing
court practice”. The WNBA players association also stated “she is very clearly a hostage” due to
the way Russia was trying to negotiate the US reinforcement on completely other events like the
takeover of Ukraine. She has already been held for 8 months and now the concern is how fast
she will be transferred to one of Russia’s penal facilities as she has been kept relatively safe in
Moscow jail during her trial. As of right now, the US is still trying hard to negotiate a prisoner
trade to get her back to America but Russia has not responded and will not give a serious
counteroffer at this time.