President Biden released a statement condemning the sentence and pledging to “work tirelessly” to bring her home. “Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney,” the statement read. “It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates.”
The statement added: that Biden vowed to “work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue” to bring Griner and American Paul Whelan, who is also jailed in Russia, home “as soon as possible.”
I don’t want to take the spotlight off of Brittney Griner. I think from the President on down, it should be a continuous effort to highlight the injustice done to that woman. By the same token, it is also an opportunity to bring up the high number of arrests made by our own law enforcement people here in America for petty weed possession.
To take a step further the unequal number of arrests of Blacks who had marijuana in comparison to other races in this country. According to ACLU.ORG, marijuana arrests account for over half of all drug arrests in the United States. The report also states that Blacks are 3.73 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana.
There is an upward trend of states in this country that are legalizing and decriminalizing marijuana. However, according to a 2020 article in Forbes, there are still an estimated 40,000 people today incarcerated for marijuana.
Yes, the nine years for Brittney Griner is harsh, but it pales in comparison to the sentence given to Weldon Angelos, co-founder, and president of Project Mission Green. In 2002, Angelos, who was a successful music producer was arrested for three counts of selling marijuana, totaling $900. Based on mandatory sentencing law, Angelos was sentenced to 55 years in federal prison.
He was pardoned in 2016 by President Obama after big names such as Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J., singers Bonnie Raitt and Alicia Keys lobbied for his release. Nonetheless, he still served 14 years for $900 dollars’ worth of weed.
Yes, Griner broke the law, but nine years is excessive. Hopefully, Biden and his administration can broker a deal that could bring her home. In doing so, maybe it will open their eyes to the unfair arrests and sentencing that they have given to their own citizens in this country.